????對于俄羅斯經濟而言，2014年很可能成為最糟糕的一年。它跟輸掉了中期選舉的美國民主黨人，和遭到黑客攻擊的索尼影視娛樂公司（Sony Entertainment Pictures）可謂難兄難弟。

????雪上加霜的是，作為俄羅斯經濟支柱的石油業又面臨價格暴跌，造成俄羅斯外匯流失而進一步妨礙了經濟增長。這種局面推動盧布迅速貶值。本周一，盧布重挫11%，迫使俄羅斯央行加息650個基點，但俄羅斯在2015年仍將難逃嚴重而痛苦的經濟衰退。

????占領克里米亞和烏克蘭沖突后，俄羅斯遭到制裁，再加上油價不斷滑落，加息并沒有讓投資者感到滿意。俄羅斯央行宣布上述決定后，盧布又下跌了8%。

????這次盧布貶值來的突然，而且極具破壞性。周二，全球經濟研究機構High Frequency Economics首席經濟學家卡爾?溫伯格在寫給客戶的報告中稱，盧布的直線下墜“不可逆轉”。他認為，目前的情況是典型的“貨幣崩盤”，誘因既有遭到制裁和油價下滑等經濟因素，也有金融因素，比如俄羅斯央行通過增發貨幣來幫助國有企業俄羅斯石油公司（Rosneft）償還以外幣為主的債務。

????更嚴重的問題在于俄羅斯的私營和國有企業共持有6700億美元外幣債務，約占俄羅斯總經濟規模的三分之一，如果盧布繼續下挫，俄羅斯公司將無法償還這些債務。溫伯格寫道：

????為了償還外債，俄羅斯借款人需要支付的盧布在一夜之間增加了20%，和本月初相比上升了50%，和11月初相比則提高了90%……俄羅斯人負擔的外債有效利率超過6000%，這足以把任何經濟體置于死地。

????通常，如果有國家陷入俄羅斯這樣的境地，它們就會向國際貨幣基金組織（IMF）求援。后者則會為經濟改革為條件為其提供資金并進行債務重組。然而，就像俄勒岡大學（University of Oregon）經濟學家蒂姆?杜伊在他的文章中所說，很難想象IMF會出面幫助俄羅斯這樣的國際社會“棄兒”，而弗拉基米爾?普京也很難屈從于西方的任何改革要求。

????那么，俄羅斯的貨幣危機對美國有何影響呢？很難下定論。俄羅斯經濟衰退不會對美國經濟產生多大影響，因為兩國間的貿易往來非常少。但毫無疑問，俄羅斯眼前的危機至少部分源于美國的外交政策。我們看到的這場經濟災難是美國與歐洲針對俄羅斯對烏克蘭采取的行動所造成的。

????現在的問題是，經濟上的困難是會迫使俄羅斯在東歐做出讓步，還是會讓它變本加厲。溫伯格的擔心之一是普京會授意俄羅斯公司拒不償還外債。對已經向俄羅斯企業提供貸款的歐洲和美國銀行及投資者來說，這將是個壞消息，而且可能讓俄羅斯的不穩定的金融局勢蔓延到其他新興經濟體，同時影響已經搖搖欲墜的歐盟經濟。（財富中文網）

????譯者：Charlie

????審稿：Vera Han

????The Russian economy was already in the running for having the worst year in 2014, sandwiched somewhere between Congressional Democrats and Sony Entertainment Pictures.

????Then the price of oil—the commodity upon which the Russian economy is built—began to fall sharply, draining the nation’s economy of foreign money and crimping its growth. This dynamic drove the ruble sharply lower, culminating in an 11% drop on Monday, which forced Russia’s central bank to raise interest rates by a whopping 650 basis points, all but assuring a deep and painful recession in 2015.

????But with strict sanctions in place against Russian companies—in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and hostilities with Ukraine earlier this year—and the continuous fall in oil prices, the interest rate hike did not satisfy traders, who sent the the ruble tumbling another 8% following the announcement.

????The fall of the ruble has been swift and devastating. Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, referred to the currency’s plummet as “an unrecoverable spiral” in a note to clients on Tuesday. He argues that what we are seeing now is a classic “currency collapse,” brought on by both economic factors like sanctions and falling oil prices as well as financial factors like the Russian central bank printing money to help state-owned oil company Rosneft cover its debt denominated in foreign currencies.

????What makes the situation in Russia that much worse is that the nation’s companies, both private and state-owned, hold $670 billion in debt denominated in foreign currencies. This debt is about one-third the size of the entire Russian economy, and it will become impossible for Russian companies to service it if the ruble continues to fall. Writes Weinberg:

????The amount of rubles local borrowers have to give up to pay off foreign debt obligations just increased by 20 percent overnight, by 50 percent since the start of this month, and by 90% since the start of November…. The effective interest rate on foreign borrowing for Russians is over 6000%, enough to kill any economy.

????Normally, when countries find themselves in a situation like Russia’s, they turn to the IMF, which would provide funding and debt restructuring in exchange for the enactment of economic reforms. But as University of Oregon economist Tim Duy writes, it’s tough to see either the IMF swooping in to help an international pariah like Russia or Vladimir Putin submitting to any reforms imposed by the West.

????So, how will Russia’s currency crisis affect the U.S.? It’s tough to say for sure. A recession in Russia won’t have much of an effect on the American economy, as the two nations conduct very little trade with each other. But make no mistake, the crisis in Russia today is at least partially a result of the diplomatic policies of the United States. We are seeing the kind of economic misery the U.S. and Europe aimed to inflict on Russia as a result of its aggression in Ukraine.

????The question now is whether the economic pain will convince Russia to back down, or double down, in Eastern Europe. Weinberg, for one, worries that Putin will instruct Russian companies to renege on their foreign obligations. This could spell bad news for banks and investors across Europe and the U.S. that have loaned money to Russian companies, and it could allow Russia’s financial instability to infect other emerging markets and the already shaky E.U. economy.