“Bankers & Bolsheviks“: an interview with Hassan Malik

What was the biggest sovereign default in history? Argentina in 2001? Greece in 2012? By losses in real terms it was actually Russia in 1918, months after the Bolshevik Revolution. Seen at the time as one of the world’s most investable bond markets, capital had flooded into Russian Tsarist bonds for years ahead of the revolution. The default, when it came, was not just due to Russia’s willingness to repay, but also its ability: the economy was heavily indebted following war against Japan in 1905, and also WW1. In this video, economic historian Hassan Malik is interviewed by M&G’s Jim Leaviss about his new book, Bankers & Bolsheviks – International Finance & the Russian Revolution (Princeton University Press).