Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, is warning that Russia needs to increase efforts to find a solution to its ailing economy.
Gorbachev's comments to the state news agency RIA Novosti today came a day after the ruble hit an all-time low against the euro, as Russia struggles with a sharp decline in prices for oil, a key export. The ruble has declined about 60 percent against Western currencies over two years.
Russian officials have suggested that the economic decline, which has also been driven by Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, can be an opportunity for the country to reorient the economy and make it less dependent on oil and gas. But Gorbachev said that so far "no such program has been put together.
