Sound: http://audiojungle.net/item/economy-news-stinger/108605?WT.oss_phrase=economy&WT.oss_rank=4&WT.z_author=R-Mafi&WT.ac=search_list Explosion sound is not included. The 2014 Russian financial crisis is the result of a rapid decline in the Russian ruble relative to other currencies during the second half of 2014 and a slowdown in the Russian economy. A decline in confidence in the Russian economy caused investors to sell off their Russian assets, causing a decline in the value of the Russian ruble and sparking fears of a Russian financial crisis. The lack of confidence in the Russian economy stemmed from at least two major sources. The first is the fall in the price of oil in 2014. Crude oil, a major export of Russia, declined in price by nearly 50% between its yearly high in June 2014 and 16 December 2014. Second is the result of international economic sanctions imposed on Russia following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the Western nations of engineering the Russian economic crisis and called them “an empire”