Vladimir Putin: This woman could be one of the most powerful in his inner circle

Elvira Nabiullina is believed to be a vital member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. She is currently in her third term as the Governor of Russia’s Central Bank.

Preparing Russia’s economy in case of sanctions

According to a profile by Forbes, in 2013, Nabiullina became the first woman to be appointed as the head of the Central Bank among the G8 countries, which has since reverted back to the G7 format after Russia left in 2014.

When Nabiullina was appointed Governor, she prioritised developing a system of measures with every major bank to prepare in case Washington imposed sanctions on Russia.

In fact, specific sanctions were later introduced by the US in 2014. In 2022, when Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine, the West triggered widespread sanctions that have, according to many reports, crippled the Russian economy.

Managing Russia’s war economy

Bloomberg reported in March 2022 that Nabiullina wanted to resign due to the situation created in Ukraine, but apparently, Putin said no.

Nabiullina’s views towards Ukraine were not made public, however, the report suggested that she was likely worried about her legacy as her work over nine years was quickly undone due to the new situation.

Meanwhile, some analysts believe that she was against the war, but now authorities in Ukraine are looking more closely into her activities which seem to have supported the occupation.

According to the New York Times, in April 2022, Nabiullina was given another five-year term as the head of Russia’s Central Bank as she successfully managed to steer the war economy out of the initial panic that was created at the outset of the crisis.

Almost eleven months into the war, and despite the catastrophic military situation on the side of the Russians, Nabiullina remains confident in the economy.

This is in spite of all the challenges that surround the crippled economy, such as the outflow of currency out of the Russian market, a struggling banking sector, and insufficient foreign exchange reserves. Nabiullina said, as reported by Reuters.

We are not concerned about the outflow of currency abroad. We do not consider it necessary to take any special measures in this regard.

We expect the banking sector to be profitable in 2023.

Our gold and foreign exchange reserves are sufficient.

Sources used:

-NewYorkTimes: ‘The Woman Steering Russia’s War Economy’

-Forbes: ‘Elvira Nabiullina Governor, Bank Of Russia’

-Bloomberg: ‘Russia Central Banker Wanted Out Over Ukraine, Putin Said No’

-Reuters: ‘Russia's central bank governor Nabiullina speaks after holding rates at 7.5%’