"On the whole, there should be a certain degree of personal responsibility of Central Bank and government officials for results in areas entrusted to them," the Russian leader said during a televised news conference.
"I think that government and financial administrative structures are generally successful in coping with the tasks and problems that the country faces," he said.
On Monday, the Russian central bank raised interest rates from 10.5 to 17 percent to stave off the worst collapse of the ruble since the 1998 Russian financial crisis.
The rate increase failed to prevent the ruble from falling further against the dollar on Tuesday.
A number of senior Russian officials say another reason for the economic downturn is Western sanctions imposed against Moscow over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.
According to Putin, the Russian economy will eventually recover from the downturn over the next few years. The Russian leader suggested that the situation may begin to improve in the first quarter of 2015.
