Which 1998 crisis followed Russia’s August 17 default and ruble devaluation?

The crisis that followed Russia’s August 17, 1998, default and ruble devaluation was the Russian financial crisis.

Russia announced a de facto devaluation of the ruble, a restructuring of domestic debt, and a temporary moratorium on some foreign debt payments on August 17, 1998. The announcement shocked investors already worried about falling commodity prices, weak tax collection, political instability, and the government’s difficulty financing its obligations.

The crisis spread beyond Russia through international financial markets. The failure of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management soon afterward required a private-sector rescue coordinated by the U.S. Federal Reserve, although the Russian crisis was not the fund’s only problem. A common mix-up is calling this the Asian financial crisis; the episodes were linked through investor risk aversion, but Russia’s 1998 turmoil had its own domestic and fiscal causes.