Russia’s RTS Index fell about 93% during the 1998 Russian financial crisis.
The Russian crisis developed amid weak public finances, falling commodity prices, political uncertainty, and heavy reliance on short-term government debt. Investors became increasingly unwilling to roll over that debt, while pressure mounted on the ruble and the banking system.
Russia devalued the ruble and declared a moratorium on some foreign debt payments in August 1998. The RTS Index, which tracked Russian shares, suffered an extraordinary collapse from its 1997 peak to its 1998 low.
The crisis also affected international markets and contributed to the failure of Long-Term Capital Management, a highly leveraged U.S. hedge fund. The Russian crash is sometimes mixed up with the 1997 Asian financial crisis, but Russia’s debt default and ruble devaluation formed a distinct 1998 episode.