Is Russian Central Bank Chief's Black Dress Symbolic Of The 'Death Of Economy?’

Elvira Nabiullina, the chief of Russia’s Central Bank, is facing one of the most tumultuous phases in her nearly decade-long career at this position.

As the Russian economy struggles to stay afloat amidst the war with Ukraine, the chief could barely hide her unease during last week’s economic affairs meeting with Putin.?

But more than the economic distress of the country, it was Elvira Nabuillina’s attire that caught the attention.?

Bank of Russia

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The chief of Central Bank of Russia, who is famed for sending coded messages with her attire, had chosen to dress in funeral black, as she warned about the devastating hit to the Russian economy from a long list of sanctions imposed by western governments in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine, as per a report in The Guardian.

Her choice of clothing, as well as an awkward appearance on TV with Vladimir Putin at an emergency meeting last week, have raised questions over what she really thinks about the President’s decision to invade and declare war on Ukraine.

Previous Instances Of Her Apparel Dropping Hints About Policy Thinking

It's widely believed that Elvira, who is softly spoken, often communicates not just through words but through her apparel, especially brooches, in order to drop hints about her policy thinking.?

In May 2020, as the Russian government urged people to stay at home, she wore a house-shaped brooch. A month later, after cutting interest rates, she chose a pigeon – in Russian, the word also means “dove”.

Sputnik/Press service of the Bank of Russia

Two years ago, she had told Russian TV “I put something into each symbol but I’m not going to explain,” according to The Guardian report.

And as per a report in?Wion News,?Elvira’s black dress last week is perceived by many as a symbol of the death of the Russian economy.

As per TheGuardian, the global chief economist at Renaissance Capital (an investment banking company of Russia), says “We know she hates the war as she was wearing black on Monday. She always wears something to give her views away. She’s in mourning for the Russia she helped to build. I don’t think her feelings will be hidden, and Putin will be aware of it. But he doesn’t care.”

Elvira Nabiullina is viewed as a modernizer who reformed Russia's central bank and kept Russia’s economy out of worse trouble despite challenging conditions since taking her post in 2013. She is highly respected in the international community, including some of Putin’s harshest critics, as per TheGuardian.

As a former trusted adviser to the president, she is credited with helping to build up a “fortress Russia” economy, one with less dependency on the US dollar and better equipped to cope with western sanctions v/s the ones during Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

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