It was the highest demand for cash by Russians since the end of March 2020 at the onset of the COVID pandemic.
Russian individuals and businesses withdrew 111.3 billion rubles — equivalent to $1.3 billion — from their bank accounts on Wednesday and Thursday, according to data from the Bank of Russia, after the country initiated a war in Ukraine. RBC.ru reported the surge in withdrawals on Friday, saying it represented the highest demand for cash by Russians since the end of March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, when President Vladimir Putin also introduced a tax on interest income from large deposits. Then, Russian people and businesses withdrew 174.9 billion rubles in one day. The central bank figures also included the volume of cash withdrawals on the Russian holiday on February 23. The Russian website noted that only 1.9 billion rubles were withdrawn on February 22, hours after Putin recognized Donetsk and Luhansk – Russian rebel-held parts of the Ukraine – as so-called people’s republics. The high withdrawals were spurred by Putin’s announcement on Thursday of war against the Ukraine, a move that has drawn scathing criticism from most military powers except for China.
