One of the major issues surrounding Alexei Kudrin’s abrupt exit from the Kremlin yesterday is not so much the political fallout of his departure, as the financial.  The man who is widely credited with keeping Russia’s budget balanced will leave a gaping hole where investors have, up until now, looked for security.  The Financial Times has this to say:

While the rouble’s slide is seen as mainly connected to global woes, bankers said the downward spiral would strengthen after Dmitry Medvedev, the current president and Mr Putin’s would-be prime minister, sacked Alexei Kudrin late on Monday. Open warfare had broken out over his refusal to work under Mr Medvedev in a future cabinet.

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“Kudrin’s departure is just another brick in the wall separating Russia from investors, and that wall is getting higher,” said Steven Dashevsky, the head of an investment fund.