After hinting at a new tax policy on the oil industry, the Russian government said nearly $2 billion will be set aside to help the economy. Russia’s currency lost considerable value at the start of last year and the broader economy faced dual strains from lower crude oil prices and economic sanctions imposed after the 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said as much as $1.8 billion, or 107.5 billion rubles under the current exchange rate, in stimulus was on the agenda for 2017. “The funds will be earmarked for transport machine building, production of locomotives and cars, machine building in agriculture, construction, highway and public service, as well as machine building in food and manufacturing industry […]