The flight of the Russian phoenix
Pharos sheds light on Russia’s recovery
When the Russian government defaulted on its debt in 1998, the country’s banks, with one or two honourable exceptions such as Alfa Bank, followed suit too. Many of them had played fast and loose with their depositors’ money, effectively betting their customers hard-earned roubles on high-yield, high-risk investments in the bond and foreign exchange markets. When those bets failed to pay off, many banks were bankrupted overnight and millions lost their life savings.
A look at the banking...
