31.   On that dark day, the impoverished government devalued the ruble and defaulted on billions of dollars in debt, sending an already shaky economy into a downward spiral.

32.   Russia has been in deep recession since mid-August, when the government defaulted on its treasury debt and devalued the ruble, sending the cost of imports soaring.

33.   Russia succumbed to global financial turmoil last August, devaluing the ruble and defaulting on some debt.

34.   Russian officials hope the IMF will resume financial assistance put on hold after Russia devalued the ruble and defaulted on some of its debts in August.

35.   Release of an IMF loan to Russia has been on hold since August when the government defaulted on its Treasury debt and devalued the ruble.

36.   Russia devalued the ruble and defaulted on billions of dollars worth of debt, and the country plunged into a deep recession.

37.   Russia last week devalued the ruble and froze debt payments, prior to the weekend dismissal of the government.

38.   Russia devalues ruble, culminating months of financial turmoil.

39.   The announcement came on a day of generally gloomy economic news in Russia, which effectively devalued the ruble on Monday in the face of a mounting debt crisis.

40.   That was in July, several weeks before the government devalued the ruble and prices soared as Russia plunged into economic crisis.