Russia's ruble dropped to an all-time low on Wednesday, hit hard by falling oil prices.
The ruble is falling faster than i can joke about it. vvp.— Vladimir Putin (@DarthPutinKGB) January 20, 2016
Falling to nearly 82 rubles to the U.S. dollar, the Russian ruble is now the worst performing currency in the world. Lenta, a leading Russian newspaper, called today "Black Wednesday."
But despite the economic crisis and predictions of a second year of recession, Russians are reportedly happier than ever.
"People have decided that the worst is over," claimed a poll from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center which asked Russians: "Generally speaking, are you happy or not?"
The poll reportedly found that, following the ruble's previous collapse in late 2014, "the mood of the population had improved rapidly."
#BREAKING Ruble falls to 80 versus US dollar pic.twitter.com/U51MvJMMKJ— Russian Market (@russian_market) January 20, 2016
Oleg Chernozub, the head of the polling company, told the Russian business newspaper Vedemosti that Russians may be happy because they feel relieved. "Panic in December 2014 - January 2015 was replaced by the euphoria of the fact that a disaster did not happen," he said.
In December 2014, the ruble dropped to 80.1, nearly prompting a run on the banks. Many Russians did line up at ATMs to withdraw their savings. Others rushed to buy up designer wear at high-end Moscow boutiques and electronics -- either as an investment or for fear that such luxuries would become completely unaffordable.
While most Russians had less cash in their pockets last year, those who could afford it ran out to buy luxury automobiles, with some companies reporting better-than-ever sales last year.
Frank Tiemann, corporate communications associate for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Europe, boasted on Twitter that the high-end car company broke its Russian sales record last year. Russian business newspaper Vedemosti reported that Rolls-Royce sold 127 cars in 2015.
Rolls-Royce celebrates in Russia 2nd consecutive sales record in 2015: all-time-high since entering market in 1910 pic.twitter.com/gnfXim4Jef— Frank Tiemann (@frank_tiemann) January 16, 2016
Porsche had a similarly great 2015, according to Russian news reports.
Crisis, #Russia-style: car sales slumped 36% this year but Rolls Royce up 5% and Porsche a whopping 12% rise says KP pic.twitter.com/nOTeGvEqvi— Sarah Rainsford (@sarahrainsford) January 18, 2016
On Wednesday, there were some indications that Russians were worried. Customers at one bank stormed inside to demand to know if their money was safe.
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Time will tell if the ruble's downward trend is to continue. The health of Russia's economy is closely linked to the price of oil, which has been dropping recently.
And the slide may not be over just yet.
"If oil falls to $25, we can see the ruble hitting 83 against the dollar," Vadim Bit-Avragim, a money manager at Kapital Asset Management LLC in Moscow, told Bloomberg. "The ruble is still relatively strong compared to oil. This isn't the worst scenario."