This is CBSI in the world. I'm John Batchett, the Russian economy, the rubel, the currency

of the Russian economy. There is disagreement about the rubel, and I asked for help from

Michael Bernstom of the Hoover Institution to spend my guide on the Russian economy.

Because some weeks past, Michael and I had a conversation right after the mutiny or whatever

it was by Pregosan. And I saw that the rubel was moving extravagantly weaker, and then

the mystery of the rubel in general over this 500-day plus of the war. Michael, a very good

evening to you. The number doesn't tell the story. I read from Bloomberg right now an

assertion by a Bloomberg columnist that what we're looking at is the rubel's fall, but

it's and pain, but not collapse because of the ingenuity of financial officials. However,

my memory of the rubel is that it rallied a little after the beginning of the war when

there was panic, once the panic lifted it rallied. And I remember it being somewhere

in the 50s or 60s. It's now over 90 and weakening all the time. In addition, there are very

distinguished voices who regard the Russian economy as on a downward trajectory that

cannot be reversed and probably won't even be reversed if the Russians negotiate and

stop the killing. For example, Yale University's Jeffrey Sondinfeld and Stephen Tien insist

that the Kremlin is testing the resilience by cannibalizing Russia's productive economy

in order to fund the war. The Hattien writes that Russia is barely breaking even on oil

exports and suffering from an overall drop in commodity prices, which forces Putin to

squeeze state companies and olikarks with surprise windfall taxes. You've reported

it on all this. That's accurate. Does this affect the rubel? Does this weaken the rubel

how they're cannibalizing? Good evening to you. Good evening to you. The economy is

an slow down while it's slow. It contracted again in the first quarter of 2020 by 1.8%

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