Some news from the financial front: First April, first day that the Bank Rossii didn't sell foreign currency in five months. That is pretty impressive if it isn't a joke.

The bank sells foreign currency to support the ruble when the ruble is within 1.95 rubles of the edge of a floating corridor against a dollar-euro basket, which has stretched from 36.25 to 43.25 rubles since March 28.

The absence of market interventions indicated that the ruble had strengthened to the non-intervention range near the middle of the corridor.

At 10.30 a.m. in Moscow on Thursday the ruble was trading at 41.57 against the basket, within the range where the central bank sells $200 million a day to support the ruble.
If you look at the last year it does sound believable, there was a strong downward pressure on the ruble. I didn't follow the amount spent on currency interventions, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear $ 45 bn, up from $ 39bn some time ago.