The board of directors said via state news agency Sputnik , formerly RIA Novosti, it was cutting expenses by $238.7 million and expecting around $1.65 billion in foreign loans. Gazprom’s disclosure comes at a time when Russia is struggling to keep its economy in check. Western sanctions imposed in response to Russian policies and low oil prices have pushed the economy to the brink of recession. The Russian Central Bank last week raised its key interest rate by 6.5 percent to 17 percent in an effort to arrest the decline of the nation’s currency. Russia relies heavily on oil and gas revenues for economic health. With oil prices falling, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual press conference last week that many of the problems in the Russian economy were caused by […]