Russia’s economy shrank 10.1 per cent in the first half of this year, the economy minister said on Wednesday, its worst decline since the early 1990s.

Sberbank, the state-controlled savings bank, has seen profits fall 98 per cent

The credit crunch, falling commodity prices and a gradual rouble devaluation have shattered 10 years of rapid growth but there are signs that the pace of economic decline is slowing.