In 100 Days Belarusian Ruble Depreciated By One Fourth

And over the last 13 months it has depreciated more than twice.

The most serious one-time currency crash since the time of the currency devaluation before the New Year took place yesterday. The dollar has gone up by more than Br1,100, Belsat reports.

“They have brought the country to the point when the situation cannot settle and calm down,” – the dweller of the capital noted.

“It seems to me that some economic reforms should be implemented, and gold and currency reserves should not be wasted on containing the crisis,” – another Minsk dweller believes.

Over the 102 days which have passed since the moment of the presidential elections last year, the national currency has gone down in value by one fourth more, observed in his blog a reviewer Viktar Malisheuski. And in the last 13 months its depreciation was more than twofold.

Similar problems are faces by other autocratic regimes of the post-Soviet space. Primarily those whose economy is based on oils export only. In Kazakhstan, where the currency has more than halved over the year, though not as much as the Belarusian currency, protest rallies are held in Almaty with a demand to protect the people paying foreign currency loans, from the devaluation. Social unrest in Azerbaijan, caused by the manat collapse and price hike, is continuing for a few weeks.

The exchange rate of the Russian ruble at the currency exchange has exceeded 84 rubles. The day before two protest rallies of credit users were held near Moscow banks. In some of them, due to devaluation, disbursement of currency loans for housing is higher than salaries.

Meanwhile, to explain the sharp fall in the value of the Belarusian currency by the fall of the Russian ruble and declining oil prices is not sufficient. Since the beginning of the year the national currency has dropped by 2% even compared with the collapsing Russian ruble.

An economist Leu Marholin among other things links that to the fact that in the end of the year the National Bank started to print money again to help the inefficient state-owned enterprises. In December the money supply grew by almost 1.5%, that is why analysts see potential for further devaluation.

“I think that it is wrong to finance loss-making enterprises. That is, we are paying tax for financing unprofitable enterprises,” – the passer-by said.

Yesterday both the National Bank and the Council of Ministers published the plan for overcoming the existing crisis. However, the former chairman of the National Bank Stanislau Bahdankevich believes it is cosmetic and aimed at imitation of reforms for the sake of foreign creditors, and not at increasing of the national economy’s competitive abilities.