Daily Times

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed reappointing central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina, again calling on the seasoned economist who has guided the country through difficult periods. In office since 2013, 58-year-old Nabiullina helped guide Russia’s economy through a previous round of Western sanctions in 2014 over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, as well as wild swings in the price of oil and bouts of inflation. “The president of the Russian Federation has proposed to the Duma as candidate for the post of central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina,” the lower house of parliament said on its Telegram channel on Friday.

The Duma will vote on her reappointment on Monday. On February 28, four days after Russian troops entered Ukraine, the central bank raised its main interest rate from 9.5 to 20 percent after Western nations imposed sanctions that largely cut Russia’s financial sector off from the global economy.

The Russian central bank’s board held its main interest rate at 20 percent, as expected, at a regular meeting on Friday. Nabiullina, who delivered a speech instead of holding her customary post-meeting press conference, said that it was “extremely difficult” to provide updated economic forecasts in the current conditions, but she would do so next month.