What name is given to Russia’s 1998 financial crisis, which included a stock-market collapse and sovereign debt default?

Russia’s 1998 crisis, which included a stock-market collapse and sovereign debt default, is called the Russian financial crisis.

Russia devalued the ruble and defaulted on domestic government debt in August 1998 after falling oil prices, weak tax collection, political uncertainty, and the continuing effects of the Asian financial crisis strained public finances. The government also widened the ruble’s trading band before abandoning the exchange-rate arrangement.

Russian share prices fell dramatically, and the banking sector suffered severe disruption. The crisis damaged confidence in emerging markets and contributed to losses at the highly leveraged American hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management.

The event is sometimes reduced to the phrase “ruble crisis,” but the wider episode included a sovereign default, currency devaluation, banking turmoil, and an equity-market collapse. Russia later benefited from stronger commodity prices and economic recovery in the 2000s.