Russia Forced to Default on Payment of Foreign Loans For First Time Since Bolshevik Revolution

     

According to an article published in The Wall Street Journal just yesterday, Russia had a dubious distinction that it has not had since the early days of the Bolshevik Revolution. Yes, because of sanctions that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Russia missed payment of certain debts. This may have an impact on it's credit standing:

Russia missed payments on two foreign-currency bonds as of late Sunday, according to holders of the bonds. The day marks the expiration of a 30-day grace period since the country was due to pay the equivalent of $100 million in dollars and euros to bondholders.

Back in 1918, Russia deliberately did not pay the debt, as the leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution did not feel beholden to pay debts incurred from the old Russian Empire.

In the nineties, Russia defaulted on some debts, but they were based on the ruble. This marks the first time in over a century that Russia defaulted on foreign debt. It may be a sign that the sanctions are indeed having an impact. 

Below is the link to the article from which I obtained the information in this blog entry, and from which I used the quote above:

Sanctions Push Russia to First Foreign Default Since Bolshevik Revolution Caitlin Ostroff, Chelsey Dulaney, June 26, 2022:

Sanctions Push Russia to First Foreign Default Since Bolshevik Revolution (msn.com)