The Russian government has approved a package of measures designed to pull the country out of its economic crisis -- but says it will still make further additions over the coming week.

This follows strong criticism yesterday by the International Monetary Fund of the measures drafted by the government.

The Fund made it clear they were not a basis for releasing the next installment of a twenty-billion dollar loan package.

The economics minister, Andrei Shapovalyants, said the plans -- which involve tighter state controls on the economy -- would revive industrial production and prevent consumer prices rising by more than thirty percent next year.

But he said they would not work unless Russia received promised international loans.

Meanwhile the Russian Central Bank has announced that the rouble will continue to find its own level against other currencies.

The Bank chairman, Viktor Gerashchenko, said Russia did not have enough gold and currency reserves to support the exchange rate artificially.