I totally agree with this statement, and I can only pity your friend Alex. However, I have my reservations about Russian banks. I don't know anything about the current state of affairs in Russia, but I would be very skeptical about trusting Russian banks. I would not put a penny in any Russian bank. I guess your friend (or his mother?) does not have an alternative, so they prefer keeping their devaluing money under the mattress versus risking to lose all of it.