The Kremlin on Thursday said that the ruble's plunge to a new record low against the dollar was "not a collapse", insisting the authorities would be able to stop the rot. 

"The exchange rate is really changing, the rate is volatile, but it is far from being a collapse," spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian agency Interfax, adding that "there is no basis to suggest the central bank does not have plans drawn up to avoid a collapse."