Paul Krugman's guess[1] is that since Putin wants to sell a smoke-and-mirrors idea of "Everything is fine, Russia is winning!", having a number (the exchange ra

Paul Krugman's guess[1] is that since Putin wants to sell a smoke-and-mirrors idea of "Everything is fine, Russia is winning!", having a number (the exchange rate) not match his bullshit would mean an obvious "This guy is full of shit" to anyone paying attention. So, he's made the central bank boss[2] (a respected competent lady, who rumors say tried to quit but was not allowed by Putin) do anything she could to make it look decent. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/01/opinion/russia-ruble-economy.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/01/opinion/russia-ruble-econ... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/09/business/elvira-nabiullina-russia-central-bank.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/09/business/elvira-nabiullin...