Is there any evidence that people in the Russian government were thinking about advocating an earlier devaluation?
That the IMF was saying, “No, hold firm.” Yes, there is. I have spoken to some senior government officials who felt already back in 1997, “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this. Something doesn’t feel right.” Then they were given great encouragement. I think in all of these cases, it is fair to say that both the governments in question and Washington play a mutual role, “All right, just one more drink. Okay. Great. Let’s go to the bar. One more. Great. One more. Just one more.” They encourage each other. So it’s not simply Washington forcing anyone to do it. The governments have a lot of responsibility on their own end. In Russia, by the way, though, they haven’t had a clue. They’ve never gone through this kind of process. They’ve relied so heavily on the IMF, that I’d put the responsibility so much more heavily on the side of Washington, in that case … Were you surprised on the 17th of August … to find out that Russia was not only devaluing its ruble, but was defaulting on its debts? .
Related Questions
- What group of people joined together on the basis of common principles, who seek to control government and public policy?
- Is there any evidence that people in the Russian government were thinking about advocating an earlier devaluation?
- When Communism took over Russia circa 1917, were Russian people as complacent as the American people are today?
