As the Russian economy is gasping for breath and survival, Russian Prime Minister Medvedev met today with top officials of the government and the central bank. Even though no details of the meeting have been released, it is certain that it dealt with the nation’s current economic crisis.

The sanctions imposed upon Russia for its ongoing actions in Ukraine are clearly having a serious toll upon their economy. President Barack Obama has before him a document called the Ukraine Freedom Support Act. This Act was unanimously approved by the Senate and the House this past Saturday, and it approves another round of new sanctions against Russia if the country does not end its actions in Ukraine.

The Act is designed to target companies that are helping to supply the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine from Russia. Companies that help transport the weapons from Russia to Ukraine, and companies that manufacture the military weapons being used there, are the targets of the sanctions this time around. President Obama has not yet signed it, but he is hoping that some European nations will support it so that the U.S. is not doing it alone. He has, however, indicated that he will put his signature on it.

On a visit to London, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry publicly declared that the sanctions of both the U.S. and Europe could be lifted quickly if Russia would remove all forces and weapons from the besieged country. He also told reporters that the sanctions are not designed to hurt the Russian people, but to stop the action in Ukraine.

In response to the possibility of new sanctions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claims that he believes that the sanctions imposed by the West are intended to bring about a “regime change” more than anything else. Kerry, of course, denied this accusation.

The ruble continues to drop to unprecedented lows. On Tuesday, the ruble had dropped 24 percent, causing citizens to rush out to the stores to buy things like imported cars, TV’s, refrigerators, washing machines, and other large appliances to try and get to the stores before the prices are raised.

Part of the reason for the collapse of the ruble is because of the drop in oil and gas prices. Russia gets about half of its revenue from the sale of gas and oil, and the unusually low prices are causing an unexpected drop in the ruble’s value.

Describing the situation as “critical,” Central Bank Deputy Chairman Sergei Shvetsov went on to say that: “Even in our worst dreams we could not have imagined a year ago that something like this was possible.” Many Russians were trading in their rubles for dollars while they could. Russia then raised the interest rates to try to keep the rubles in the country.

Earlier today, the ruble was valued at a record low of 72 rubles to a dollar. Their currency has dropped to about half of what it was just a year ago, largely because of sanctions already in place. Financial forecasts are predicting that Russia will enter recession next year.

Because of the troubles of the Russian economy, President Putin is under a lot of pressure, says John Lough, an expert on Russia at the Chatham House, which is a think tank in London. He says that Putin promised the people of Russia three years ago that he would raise their living standards, but that it would be in exchange for reduced civic freedoms. Obviously, that has not happened.