For ordinary Russians, what they learned about the rubles collapse depended greatly on where they turned for information.
While independent media said the central bank should have intervened more directly, and that the increase of the benchmark interest rate to 17 percent could create a crisis in the banking system, state-run outlets steered any criticism away from President Vladimir Putin and portrayed the government as ready to take firm action.
Since coming to power in 2000, Putin has regained government ownership of every major television station. With TV serving as the main source of news for most Russians living outside major cities, thats given the state incredible power to shape the news citizens receive.
The state-run media has a totally different task, said Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies. Their job isnt to inform people, but to carry out propaganda. And so theyre trying to reassure.
The ruble plummeted into a freefall yesterday, losing as much as 19 percent in the biggest one-day drop in 16 years, as panic swept across Russian financial markets after a surprise interest-rate increase overnight failed to stem the run on the currency. The ruble is being hammered as the global price of crude oil, Russias main export, plunged below $60 a barrel for the first time in five years. State-run Channel One didnt cover ruble plunge at all, except for saying that the central bank increased the key rate.
Media owned by the state or allies of Putin focused on the governments response to the crisis, if they reported on it at all. Rossiya 24 TV and Izvestia highlighted an interview with Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina saying she would act to defend the ruble. Rossiyskaya Gazeta and REN TV carried optimistic coverage that the ruble had strengthened after its decline.
In July, Russian state television reeled off almost every possible reason why a Malaysian Air passenger jet exploded over rebel territory in eastern Ukraine, denying some western military experts opinion that a Russian-made missile fired by pro-Russian insurgents. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Coverage on government-owned television is understandable in this case, said Yulia Bushueva, who helps to manage about $500 million at Arbat Capital in Moscow.
State television is having limited ruble coverage now in order not to cause panic among the people and make them run to the banks to swap their savings into dollars, which would harm the ruble even more, as those savings are pretty large, she said. Still, that may not help as Russians remember the 1998 and 2008 crises, and dont pay attention to what state TV says in such cases, she said.
Vladimir Rudenkov from Voronezh, a city about 500 kilometers (311 miles) from Moscow, was one of those ignoring the government-media assurances and taking action. Rudenkov transfered a portion of his savings into dollars yesterday and said he regretted that he didnt exchange it all.
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Russians Sell Ruble as State-Run Media Says Crisis Under Control