> They also had existing foreign currency reserves Over half of those are frozen due to sanctions, but even the rest is hard to use, because any transaction ma

> They also had existing foreign currency reserves Over half of those are frozen due to sanctions, but even the rest is hard to use, because any transaction may be blocked out of abundance of zeal. That's why capital controls are used to keep the official rate at pre-war level. Aside from restrictions on selling the ruble, Russian state forces all businesses that are paid in foreign currencies to immediately sell 70%. This increases the demand for ruble.