financial issues that we had been discussing. naturally, bearing in mind, the sanctions that the so-called western community as i called in my speech, the empire of lies is now trying to implement against our country. >> president vladimir putin holding crisis talks with his top-economic advisers as russia's economy reels from crushing western sanctions. cnn's anna stewart with more on the economic impact. >> reporter: life for ordinary russians just got much more expensive. >> translator: prices are rising, of course. savings are shrinking and stocks are falling. >> reporter: russia's financial system is reeling from crushing sanctions imposed by the west. the moscow stock exchange was closed monday after the russian ruble crashed to a record low against the dollar. at one stage, it was down more