MOSCOW: Faced with a crippling recession, Russian authorities are coming in for growing criticism from economic insiders concerned over a lack of clear policies to deal with the crisis.
After a year that saw growth slump and the ruble nosedive on the back of falling oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine, officials have predicted that Russia's economy will contract by some five percent in 2015.
As government income shrinks, the overall rate of inflation also looks set to hit around 17 percent by spring.
And -- with the situation hitting the wallets of ordinary Russians -- alarm bells are ringing that the authorities under strongman President Vladimir Putin are floundering in their efforts to find a way out.
"I have read all of the government documents and I did not understand the aim of their economic policies," said Herman Gref, head of Russia's largest lender, Sberbank.
Speaking at an economic forum in Moscow last week, Gref, a former economy minister and member of the Kremlin's marginalised liberal clan, called for a "radical" shift in direction to restore global confidence in Russia's battered economy.
But, for now, these appeals for a sharp change of tack seem to be having little impact.
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