The Russian government has ordered five state-run companies to cut the amount of foreign currency they hold in an attempt to stabilize the volatile currency market. The government said on its website Tuesday that gas monopoly Gazprom, oil producer Rosneft, diamond miner Alrosa, diamond producer Kristall and oil firm Zarubezhneft have to cut their foreign currency holdings by March 1, 2015 to the level they had on Oct 1, 2014. The move to prompt state-run companies to sell dollars and euros comes after a rapid depreciation in the ruble, which brought its value to all-time lows last week. Many have feared that the government may apply stricter administrative measures to limit the ruble’s weakness despite a pledge by the authorities to impose no capital controls. Write to Andrey Ostroukh at [email protected]