But unlike Washington, the world's currency traders and investors don't dwell on Russia's strategic importance, or its nuclear capabilities. They are interested in hard evidence that the country can pay its debts. And these days, they have a lot of reason for doubt. Declining oil prices have cut into the country's revenues and prevented Russia from getting the price it wanted at the auction of the last big government-owned oil company. The outlook has worsened with disturbances triggered by coal miners, and the government's inability to force profitable companies to pay their taxes.
People just pull their horns in.
They are much more attuned to risk than they were even a few months ago. The connections are more than psychological. Among the heaviest investors in Russia were the South Koreans, who lent to the country and began to build factories there, part of its strategy of isolating North Korea from its one-time allies. Now, with the South Korean stock market at an 11-year low and South Korean manufacturers cutting back around the world, that source has dried up. Once there was hope that Japan would see Russia as an enormous opportunity, within sight of its northern islands.