The State Duma passed the first reading of amendments to a number of laws to prohibit government officials in public appearances, the media, Internet sites and advertising from mentioning financial indicators in any currency except rubles. Since quoting prices in foreign currencies has been banned since the mid-1990s, “conditional units,” the euphemism that replaced dollars at that time, are the main target of the new amendments. Only the communists opposed the amendments. Discussion of the amendments in the Duma gives hope that the logical contradictions and violations of common sense in the law may be removed before the final reading....
