"Here there is a political and a philosophical aspect. This is our attitude toward society and business, the formation of trust," Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said on Ekho Moskvsy (Echo of Moscow) radio. "We could deftly lighten your pockets, but we are not doing this."
He also told the station that oil prices had pretty much bottomed out by dropping below $50 a barrel.
Asked if $40-$50 a barrel was a realistic range for crude, he said: "In the price of oil we see that it has approached some kind of bottom."
In New York on Friday, benchmark light sweet crude closed down $1.70 at $46.28.
Ulyukayev also said that imports into Russia fell 20% in November, due to a weaker ruble and slowing domestic demand.
The Economic Development and Trade Ministry said on Friday that Russia's GDP growth in the fourth quarter would be 2.6%, adding that since late October the economy had been contracting.
