Russian officials complain that other republics' continuing to print rubles is making it harder for them to reduce inflation.

That means the Government could no longer print new rubles when it ran huge deficits.

It needs to give Russia access to loans to help pay some of the Government's bills, thereby removing some of the need to print rubles.

If you can't figure out a way to collect taxes or run an economy that doesn't bleed to death with corruption, all that's left is printing rubles.

Pulling back on credit in Russia means, in effect, that the Central Bank must print fewer rubles.

Moreover, the central bank said it would print extra rubles to replenish the reserve fund, a move that will be inflationary.

So it was unwilling simply to print rubles, and had to borrow money to pay its bills.

Because Russia has not printed enough rubles to pay all its bills, inflation has not risen out of control.

Congress has used that power to purge reform ministers and to encourage the central bank to print excess rubles, fueling disastrous hyperinflation.

The 500 days planners know that, so first they would end the need to print rubles by cutting spending on the armed forces and foreign aid.