A managed rate; Why not?

The exchange-rate policy is an important instrument of economic reform in Russia. During the years of the reforms, the country has gone from a system of administrative distribution of currency, multiple exchange rates, and criminal prosecution of transactions with hard currency to practically complete internal convertibility of the ruble in current transactions. Nevertheless, during this entire time the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has avoided making its objectives public. It is suggested that a positive effect from exchange-rate policy can be realized only if the goals of the CBR in this area and the mechanisms for attaining them are clearly and publicly formulated and consistently implemented. Among other things, the CBR should proceed from implicit to explicit management of the ruble's exchange rate. The first step on this road should be to discontinue pegging the CBR's official exchange rate to Moscow Interbank Hardcurrency Exchange tenders. In addition, the CBR's currency reserves must be further increased in order to form any stable mechanism for managing the ruble's exchange rate.