The Baltic Republics have been among the hardest hit by the devaluation of the rouble: Dr Oyar Krumberg, of the Riga computer exchange in Latvia, says that since independence was declared, all state-owned organisations, which make up the main computer purchasers, have been directed only to spend their precious hard currency on essentials like food and medicine; hard currency is now freely available at Street Bureaux de Change but rates are almost incredible in what used to be the Soviet Union – 90 roubles for one US dollar is not the highest that’s been heard of – Russian banks are reportedly trading at 300 roubles to the US dollar.
