1998 Russian financial crisis

A graph shows the Russian ruble to USD exchange rate in the second half of 1998. In the weeks following 17 August, one US dollar went from being worth 6.43 rubles to being worth over 21 rubles.

The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the ruble and defaulting on its debt. The crisis had severe impacts on the economies of many neighboring countries.


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