The big question now facing Russian debt owners is whether they ever get their money back. The government is paying its bond coupons for now, but with the war in Ukraine raging and foreign reserves frozen, it’s unclear how or when investors will receive their cash. Even though the central bank called the ban on transferring coupon payments temporary, the financial meltdown has been so severe that no one knows how it will be repaired or whether Russia would even have any motivation to service debt. With decades of integration into the global financial system snuffed out in days, Russia is now at risk of its first debt default since 1998. Then, shockwaves from the Asian debt crisis and tumbling oil prices compelled Boris Yeltsin’s government to renege on about $40 billion of local bonds. “All bets are off now,” said Guido Chamorro, co-head of emerging-market hard […]