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Russia replaces rouble

Each of the new coins, called the 'new rouble', is worth 1,000 old roubles and the move is expected to help curb runaway inflation.

The Russian government has released an advertising campaign starring one of Russia's greatest saxophone players, who tells people they have nothing to fear.

"Crossing off the noughts is like getting rid of the notes, it makes it much easier to understand," he says.

The Deputy Chairman of the Russian Central Bank, Sergei Alexasashenko, says the country is ready for the change.

"It is psychological just to assure our people that we have come back to the old stable situation and that we have finished the old period of high inflation," he said.

The finacial turmoil in Asia recently exposed the vulnerablity of Russia's economic recovery and only the late decision to raise interest rates prevented a crisis.

Yeltsin: no excuses for economic decline

The Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, has criticised his government's poor economic performance saying it had to come up with fresh ideas to meet predictions of economic growth next year.

"We need breakthrough ideas and new approaches," he said.

"I have to say frankly that I was hoping for better economic results. Of course we can point to the world financial crisis which hit Russia in the late autumn, early winter. But we should not look for excuses," he said.

The Russian government started the year predicting 2.2 % growth for 1997, before scaling back estimates.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently predicted gross domestic product growth of 0.5 % by the end of the year, rising to 3% in 1998.

If realised, growth would end a run of six years of sometimes spectacular economic decline following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

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