Would a Russian debt default trigger global financial crisis?

Aftermath of Russia’s last default ‘looms large’

Stock market screen
(Image credit: Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia is spiralling towards a multibillion-dollar debt default as Western sanctions cripple the superpower’s economy, analysts have warned.

Moscow is due to make $117m (£90m) in interest payments today to investors holding $2-denominated bonds. But with freezes imposed on Russia’s foreign currency reserves in response to the Ukraine invasion, credit rating agencies have predicted that a debt default is “imminent”.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up