Russia has developed a strong appetite for the Chinese currency, reports Bloomberg in Moscow.

Vladimir Putin has a secret agent in his campaign to curb the impact of sanctions on Russia's economy: Mr Yuan.

That is what skeptical bankers started calling Igor Marich after he introduced yuan trading in Moscow in 2010, when Russia became the first country outside China to offer regulated renminbi purchases. Now, as sanctions from the West over the conflict in Ukraine are prompting more Russian companies to look east for growth, Mr Yuan has become something of an honorific.