The Russian government has asked the Boards of five public sector enterprises including diamond and jewellery majors Alrosa and Kristall to reduce foreign currency holdings in a bid to tackle the ruble crisis. The decree published in Russian on the government website is a “Directive to the representatives of Russia's interests in the Board of Directors (Supervisory Board) of Gazprom, Rosneft and Zarubezhneft and Alrosa and Kristall”. The other three enterprises covered operate in the gas and oil sectors.

The directive asks the companies to ensure that March 1, 2015 foreign currency holdings return to levels not higher than those prevailing on October 1, 2014. The companies have also been asked to ensure that the levels are not exceeded subsequently. They have been asked to submit a weekly report to the Bank of Russia on the amount of net foreign exchange assets of the company.

The directive comes against the backdrop of the dramatic fall in the ruble over the last few months as a result of the easing of global gas prices and the impact of the limited sanctions imposed on Russia by the western economies in the context of the political situation in Ukraine.

While government intervention has seen the ruble rebound from the low of US$ 80 it had touched some time ago to US$$ 55 levels currently, the government itself seems to be preparing for the worst. Recently, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the country would plunge into a "deep recession'' if there was too much cut back on government spending. The recent hike in interest rates to 17% has also contributed some stability to the ruble, but experts believe that such high rates cannot be sustained for long without hurting investment and business.