Russian financial crisis

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It has been suggested that GKO be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Inkombank was one of the most high-profile casualties of the events of August 1998. Once one of Russia's largest banks, whose billboards proudly announced its motto "We are for real, we are here to stay", it closed its doors almost overnight. Their Nizhny Novgorod building, which was one of the shiny happy symbols of the new Russian capitalism in that city, looks rather shabby now (2006). But above the name of its current owner, one can still see a not-quite-erased Inkombank logo.

The global recession of 1998, which started with the Asian financial crisis in July 1997, exacerbated Russia's financial crisis. Given the ensuing decline in world commodity prices, countries heavily dependent on the export of raw materials, such as oil, were among those most severely hit. (Petroleum, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of Russian exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Oil is also a major source of government tax revenue. [1]) The sharp decline in the price of oil had severe consequences for Russia.

[edit] See also

• Long-Term Capital Management
• GKO