Yesterday afternoon, the value of the rouble was one euro cent, about 30 per cent less than on Monday morning. Russian stock prices registered a similar collapse. In recent weeks, rouble and stock prices have been falling in line with oil prices. This week, however, oil prices remained stable at about $60 dollars per barrel.

So what led to these events — and why the disparity between the currency, oil and stocks?

What seems to have triggered the chaos was an unusual deal involving the bonds of Russia’s biggest oil company, Rosneft. Last year, in the era of three-digit oil prices, the state-owned group borrowed about $40bn from leading international and Russian banks to acquire its former competitor, Moscow-based joint venture TNK-BP. Given low oil prices and the impact of western sanctions in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, it is no longer clear how this debt will be repaid or refinanced.