Western financial institutions finally have something to be angry about when it comes to Russia: it can't pay its debts. Credit ratings agency S&P today said the country attempted to pay for dollar-denominated bonds in its own currency, and that this amounts to a "selective default" because no-one's taking it.
Moscow has a grace period of 30 days from April 4 to make the payments of capital and interest, but S&P said it does not expect it will convert them into dollars given Western sanctions that undermine its "willingness and technical abilities to honor the terms and conditions" of itsobligations.
Lenin at least had the steeze to repudiate Russia's debts rather than try to pay them in rubles!