Tensions between conservative anti-western forces and their western-oriented, relatively liberal opponents in the Kremlin burst into the open on Friday as the Russian stock market soared nearly 30 per cent in response to a government rescue plan.

As trading resumed after a two-day closure to halt panic selling, the rouble-denominated MICEX Index surged 28.7 per cent and the dollar-denominated RTS 22.4 per cent, its biggest one-day rise, after the government pledge to boost liquidity by more than $100bn (€70bn, £55bn).