The Day Russia Defaulted: August 17, 1998
In 1998, the world watched in disbelief as Russia defaulted on $40B of debt 💥 — crushed by collapsing oil prices 🛢️ and a crumbling ruble 💸.
Government bonds? 📉 Worthless.
The ruble? 🔻 Lost 70% of its value (6,29➡️20 per dollar).
Panic? 😱 Global.
People’s life savings evaporated overnight 🫥
Banks collapsed 🏦
Salaries went unpaid 🧾🚫
Foreign investors lost billions 💰
Turns out: nothing is guaranteed ⚠️
But smart traders?
Some saw it coming. They shorted the ruble 📉 or moved into safe-haven assets like gold ⚱️and USD 💵.
Others held on to “safe” Russian government bonds… and got crushed.
