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12 Tremendous Photos Of Moscow Traders During The Russian Financial Crisis Of 1998
12 Tremendous Photos Of Moscow Traders During The Russian Financial Crisis Of 1998
Matthew BoeslerMar 4, 2014, 20:58 IST
Russian financial markets have been subjected to some serious volatility this week on account of escalating military tensions on the border the country shares with Ukraine.
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In 1998, Russia defaulted on its debt and devalued the ruble, which had up until then been pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar.
While the situation is dramatically different today, the photos below, from Reuters, offer a glimpse of what it was like on the trading floors in Moscow during the summer of 1998.
REUTERSDealers at Moscow's commodities exchange working at their computers during hectic trading May 27, 1998. Russian financial markets went into a tailspin on Wednesday, prompting the central bank to raise interest rates by 100 basis points to defend the rouble from intensifying pressure.
REUTERSTraders talk as they stand inside Russia's Rossiiskaya Birzha Futures and Commodities Exchange June 2, 1998. The board of directors of Rossiiskaya Birzha will hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss its settlement problems, including standard bankruptcy procedures, a trader at the exchange said.
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REUTERSA dealer trades at Moscow International Currency Exchange (MICEX) July 3, 1998. Russian share prices have been under heavy pressure in recent weeks as the government fights a major financial crisis triggered partly by Asia's economic woes and partly by domestic problems including a shortfall in tax revenues.
REUTERSRussian dealers trade during a morning session at Moscow's International Currency Exchange ( MICEX) July 14, 1998. International lenders threw Russia's economy a $22.6 billion lifeline on Monday in a resounding vote of confidence in the government's planes for dealing with an acute financial crisis.
REUTERSA trader looks at figures at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) August 17, 1998. Russia announced an effective devaluation of the rouble and a 90-day moratorium on some foreign debt repayments on Monday in response to a crisis of confidence in the government's ability to defend the currency.
REUTERSA trader looks at a computer display in Moscow's Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) August 26, 1998. MICEX said on Wednesday that spot rouble/dollar trading was null and void for the day following an order from the central bank. Trading was declared null and void in line with a central bank decision, the MICEX said in a statement, after the rouble had earlier slid five percent to 8.26 to the dollar.
REUTERSA security officer changes the currency rates on an exchange office poster August 27, 1998. Russia's central bank suspended foreign exchange trade of the rouble on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) on Thursday after opening trade showed the currency was headed for a sharp drop. Sign reads "No Currency" meaning the bank will not sell foreign currency.
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REUTERSA trader looks at a monitor at the main Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) September 3, 1998. The Russian rouble was again battered lower on Thursday, being set at 13.4608 to the dollar at a new system of "electronic" fixing on the MICEX.
REUTERSA Russian dealer trades during the morning session at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) September 17, 1998. By late morning the rouble had slipped to 15.50 against the dollar from the central bank's official 12.4509 rate.
REUTERSA Russian trader looks at a computer display during a morning session at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) September 22, 1998. The rouble was quoted at 16.35/16.40 to the dollar in a midday trade on Tuesday on the electronic SELT system on MICEX.
REUTERSA Russian trader watches as his colleague speaks on a phone during a morning session at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) September 23, 1998. The rouble fell in the last few weeks but stabilised in recent days and stands around 15.80 to the dollar in electronic trading on MICEX.
REUTERSA Russian trader speaks on the phones during a morning session at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) October 5, 1998. The rouble rose in early trade on the MICEX, firming to 15.60/15.80 roubles to the dollar for "today" settlement.
