Lessons of the Currency Crisis in Russia and in Other Countries

Articles have been published repeatedly in the pages of "Voprosy ekonomiki" in which attempts have been made to prove that the exchange rate of the ruble was artificially made too high, that a devaluation was not only desirable but essential to stimulate growth in exports and production, and that if one was not carried out "from above," then it would most likely happen "from below" in the form of a currency crisis. Now, almost a year after the crisis, most economists agree that the exchange rate of the ruble was too high, but no unanimity is seen in assessments of the reasons for the August collapse