Which 1998 Russian market crash followed the country’s government default on domestic debt?

The 1998 Russian market crash that followed the government’s domestic-debt default was the Russian financial crisis.

Russia declared a moratorium on some foreign debt payments and devalued the ruble in August 1998. The announcement followed years of fiscal pressure, falling commodity prices, weak tax collection, and political uncertainty. Russian stocks, bonds, and the currency suffered severe losses.

The crisis also affected international finance. The collapse of the large U.S. hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management created fears that forced selling and counterparty exposure could spread through global markets. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York helped coordinate a private-sector recapitalization, although the U.S. government did not directly bail out the fund.

The Russian crisis is often linked to the Asian financial crisis because it occurred during the same period of global investor retrenchment. They were distinct crises with different immediate causes.