The ruble fell hard and fast Thursday, while Boris Yeltsin and his rivals in parliament headed for a showdown vote over the president's candidate to lead a new government.
A day after the government acknowledged it was powerless to stop the ruble's fall, Russia's financial crisis went from bad to worse.The official ruble rate fell to 13.5 rubles to the dollar, but traders said it was as low as 17.4 to the dollar. The ruble had been trading at 6.2 to the dollar last month before it began its slide.
At currency exchange booths in central Moscow, operators lowered the rate on their billboards several times today, trying to keep up with the crashing currency.
Acting Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin appealed to Russians not to panic and to leave their money in banks, where he assured them it would be safe. But the plummeting ruble was certain to make depositors nervous and increase demand for dollars and other foreign currencies.
Meanwhile, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov reiterated that his party will vote against confirming Chernomyrdin as prime minister when parliament holds a second round of voting on Friday.