Bank of Russia raises all interest rates 0.25%

The Bank of Russia on Thursday raised interest rates across the board 0.25%, citing rising prices and an expectation of higher inflation.

The central bank said it had seen a sharp rise in the rate of inflation in August and early September that had exceeded "its medium-term targets."

Former deputy head of the Central Bank and director for research of the Higher School of Economics, Sergey Aleksashenko, says the interest rate itself has practically no influence on the country's economy.

"Banks pay attention to the rate, but it has no direct influence on their policy," Aleksashenko told Ekho Moskvy in an interview.