What was the 1998 global market crisis triggered in part by Russia’s debt default and devaluation called?

The 1998 global market crisis involving Russia’s debt default and devaluation was the Russian financial crisis.

Russia defaulted on domestic ruble-denominated debt and devalued the ruble in August 1998. The government struggled with weak tax collection, falling commodity prices, political instability, and heavy short-term borrowing. Investors had expected the ruble and government debt to remain more stable than they did.

The shock spread beyond Russia. International investors reduced risk in emerging markets, and the collapse of the highly leveraged hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management threatened wider financial disruption. The U.S. Federal Reserve helped coordinate a private-sector rescue of the fund, though it did not directly bail it out.

The Russian crisis followed the 1997 Asian financial crisis but was not the same event. It also differed from the 1994 Mexican peso crisis, which began with Mexico’s currency and debt problems. These crises were connected through global capital flows, yet each had distinct causes and names.