Russian official criticises downgrade from Standard & Poor’s

A top Russian official has accusing a leading rating agency of trying to turn tycoons against the Kremlin.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded Russia’s credit rating to a non-investment grade earlier this week, for the first time in more than a decade.

In parliament, deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov said the goal of the downgrade was to push businesses “to withdraw their support” for the Russian government and president Vladimir Putin.

The downgrade of Russia’s sovereign debt is triggering a downturn for Russian companies.

Russia has exceptionally low levels of public debt for a country with a “junk” status, but the downgrade underlined investors’ fears about the unpredictability of Mr Putin’s foreign policy and the collapse of the rouble.