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Reuters: How Russia’s central bank chief held the line

Published Sept. 26, 2016 at 3:54 pm

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) speaks with the Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on August 10, 2015. Russia's central bank chief insisted today that the country's beleaguered banking system is out of danger after being battered by the economic crisis rocking the country. Russia entered its worst financial crisis of Putin's 15-year rule in December as plummeting oil prices and Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine sent the economy into a nosedive. AFP PHOTO / RIA NOVOSTI / POOL / MICHAEL KLIMENTYEV / AFP PHOTO / RIA NOVOSTI / Michael Klimentyev

Photo by AFP

One Thursday evening in March, Elvira Nabiullina, governor of Russia’s central bank, faced down a rival in the struggle for influence inside President Vladimir Putin’s entourage.

At a meeting chaired by Putin, Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev sought the president’s blessing for the central bank to give 140 billion rubles ($2.2 billion) to lenders, according to a person who was briefed on the meeting by Nabiullina.