Putin Names Ally as Head of Russian Central Bank

MOSCOW – President Vladimir V. Putin on Tuesday nominated Elvira Nabiullina, a close political ally and his chief economic adviser, to become the new chairwoman of Russia’s central bank.

The nomination strongly signaled that the bank’s independence, like that of so many other institutions in Russia, may now be eclipsed by more direct Kremlin control over rate-setting policy. The step came despite a general consensus in economic circles that countries with independent central bankers tend to do better economically over the long term.

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