Bank of Russia Chair Elvira Nabiullina pointed to the main reason behind the ruble’s strength. Remarkably, neither the central bank nor the government has contributed to the resilience of the national currency. The thing is that risks from Western sanctions seem quite tolerable amid the severe downturn in Russia’s equity market. In 2019, foreign investors were attracted by cheap equities of emerging markets, including Russia. This factor is seen as the catalyst for the inflow of foreign capital that is bullish for the Russian currency. The ruble meets global and domestic challenges for the whole 2019 despite the Kremlin’s stance. Looking back in 2014, the US and the EU decided to penalize Russia for the annexation of the Crimean peninsular. Amid the first round of sanctions and a slump in oil prices, Moscow’s policy was to knock the ruble down with a view to offsetting losses from oil exports on account of difference in exchange rates. Since 2014, the Kremlin has been running a large-scale campaign to temper the ruble’s growth. Nevertheless, despite global and domestic headwinds, the Russian ruble has gained nearly 8.5% against the US dollar and almost 11% against the euro this year. Unfortunately, the ruble does not credit its growth to the Russian regulator that has been acknowledged by the Bank of Russia leader. “The ruble has appreciated amid capital inflows. Overseas investors are seeking lucrative assets. Therefore, they invest robustly in emerging markets, including Russia,” Elvira Nabiullina noted.