Today marks the one-year anniversary of when the ruble was set free for the first time in its post-Soviet history. In five charts, we show how the central bank’s decision to stop depleting international reserves to prop up the currency has upended every facet of the Russian economy, from decimating wages to enriching oil exporters. 1. Runaway Inflation The ruble has shed about 30 percent against the U.S. dollar, stoking inflation to a 13-year high that the central bank sought to counter with repeated interest-rate hikes up to 17 percent last December. The Bank of Russia has since unwound much of that emergency rate increase. 2. Rising Poverty Runaway inflation eroded consumers’ purchasing power. The resulting drop in wages and disposable income has been so dramatic as to make more Russians destitute. The World Bank predicts Russia will experience for the first time since the 1998-1999 financial crisis a […]