Financial "hawk" and the first woman in the Central Bank leadership. 5 facts about Elvira Nabiullina

Elvira Nabiullina has headed the Bank of Russia for more than 11 years. During her leadership, the country increased its gold reserve, reduced the number of banks, and the key rate reached a record level. Her main merits are called overcoming the consequences of unprecedented Western sanctions and economic growth. What is known about Elvira Nabiullina - in the material "Izvestia".

Fact 1: The first woman to head the Central Bank

- Elvira Nabiullina headed the Bank of Russia in June 2013, becoming the first woman in the country's history to hold this post. Moreover, she was the only woman to head the country's central bank among all G8 member countries.

- In 2014, against the backdrop of sanctions imposed against Russia, she saved the Russian economy by implementing the necessary reforms and raising interest rates. The success of the head of the Russian Central Bank was admired in the West: in 2015 Euromoney magazine and in 2017 The Banker magazine named her the world's best central bank governor.

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Fact 2: A proponent of tight credit policy

- Nabiullina has been called a financial hawk for her commitment to aggressive monetary policy. Despite all the criticism the Central Bank head faces in Russia, the Western press believes that this tactic has repeatedly saved the ruble during crises.

- Thanks to Nabiullina's intervention, Russia developed its own payment system, which prevented the economy from collapsing due to the country's disconnection from the SWIFT system. Her bailout of banks and revocation of licenses of the most unreliable ones reduced the market of monetary institutions threefold, increased the reliability of the banking sector and allowed Russia to accumulate large financial reserves.

Fact 3. Nabiullina has been listed in the ratings of the most influential people since 2017

- From 2017 to 2021, the head of the Russian Central Bank was among the 100 most powerful women according to Forbes, and from 2018 she was the only Russian representative on the list.

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- In 2023, Nabiullina was ranked among the 28 most influential people in Europe by Politico in the "Destroyer" category because she "managed to prevent the effects of unprecedented Western sanctions" and stabilize the economy. As a result, the IMF revised its forecast for the Russian economy from 0.7% to 2.2% growth.

Fact 4: revoked the license of the bank where she worked

- Elvira Nabiullina worked in a commercial bank for only two years, and now this organization does not exist. In 1998-1999 , she was deputy chairman of the board of Promtorgbank, which in 2010 changed its name to Svyaznoy.

- "Svyaznoy" was ruined by dependence on foreign loans: in 2014, when sanctions were imposed on Russia, the business faced problems with loans abroad. Depositors' funds began to flow out, and in 2015 Svyaznoy Bank's license was revoked. At that time, it was the largest commercial organization forced to leave the market.

Fact 5: Her decisions were guessed by brooches

- During the pandemic, the Russian and foreign press widely discussed Elvira Nabiullina's "talking" brooches - journalists tried to determine what the regulator's tactics would be. For example, in March 2020, during a briefing on the situation with the ruble's fall, she wore a brooch in the shape of a teeter-totter and promised that the bank would "monitor financial stability risks": the key rate was kept at 6%. Brooch in the form of a dove in June 2020 was interpreted as a softening of monetary policy - then Nabiullina said that the situation required additional budgetary support measures, the key rate dropped to 4.5%. And on February 12, 2021, Nabiullina appeared at a Central Bank meeting with a brooch in the form of a dot and announced that "the easing cycle is over."

- Nabiullina admitted that in the first brooch with a stork put on accidentally, and later began to put a certain meaning in the choice of jewelry, but never commented on them to the press. After February 2022, the head of the Central Bank gave up "talking" jewelry: now journalists and economists guess about the decisions of the regulator according to the publications of the Central Bank.

On the day of publication of the material on February 14, 2025, the Central Bank kept the key rate at 21%. At the same time, Nabiullina did not wear any of the brooches.