Since the beginning of the 90s, Russia has been in a fever from time to time. The ruble exchange rate constantly depends not only on internal but also external factors: energy prices, the global financial crisis, geopolitics. It is interesting to trace the entire history of the rapid falls of the national currency of Russia since 1992, when the free exchange rate of the ruble was officially introduced.
"Black Tuesdays" in the history of Russia
Until July 1, 1992, there was an official ruble exchange rate of 56 kopecks to one US dollar. Of course, the common man could not acquire American currency at such a ridiculous rate that did not correspond to the market price. On July 1, the government equated the dollar to the exchange rate, and the price soared instantly from 56 kopecks to 125 rubles. At the same time, the dollar has grown 222 times.
Already in August 1992, in three days the ruble fell by another 22% and now one dollar was worth 205 rubles.
On September 22, 1992, the dollar rate rose again from 205 to 241 rubles. This fall in the national currency of Russia happened on Tuesday, which the media called "black".
In the history of the new Russia, there will still be more than one “Black Tuesday”, when the ruble exchange rate will rapidly rush down.
In 1993, in the period from 22 to 24 September, the dollar rose again against the ruble by 25% - from 1,036 to 1,299 rubles per dollar. The population began to massively buy up currency. On every corner you could see people with signs: "Buy Dollars."
Economic experts attributed such a sharp drop in the ruble to political instability in the country. On September 21, Boris Yeltsin signed a decree terminating the activities of the Supreme Soviet and the Congress of People's Deputies.
Another Black Tuesday occurred on October 11, 1994. During one trading session, the ruble rate fell by 38.6% (from 2833 to 3926 rubles per dollar). People again rushed to convert their savings into American currency, but this rapid fall was short-lived. Within three days, the dollar was worth 2994 rubles.
On August 17, 1998, the Russian government announced a technical default, although the population of the highest-ranking officials assured until the last day that the economic situation in the country is quite stable and no shocks should be expected. From August 18 to September 9, the denominated ruble fell 3.2 times against the US currency (from 6.50 to 20.83 rubles per dollar).
At the same time, the government abandoned the fixed rate of the national currency and announced a floating rate within the extended exchange rate band.
The 1998 default was caused by the economic crisis in Southeast Asia and a sharp drop in energy prices.
In the period from 1998-2002, the ruble gradually depreciated. By the end of 2002, the ruble exchange rate was 31.86 rubles / $.
Until 2008, the rate of the national currency of Russia remained stable, however, due to the global financial crisis, the ruble rate dropped slightly. This was due to the fact that world oil prices began to fall and the Central Bank of Russia pursued a targeted policy to weaken the ruble against the bi-currency basket.
"Black Tuesday" - 2014
On December 16, 2014, and again on Tuesday, there was another sharp drop in the ruble. A real panic began in the foreign exchange market. On that day, the value of the dollar reached 80.1 rubles / $. The rapid fall of the ruble continued, despite the increase in the key rate of the Central Bank from 10.5 to 17%.
Will this "black Tuesday" be the last - time will tell.
