The Russian ruble’s abrupt fall last week was the deepest drop in the value of the currency in four years. But unlike the Asian economic crisis in the Pacific Rim last year, GW officials said the recent plunge in the Russian currency should not affect GW students.

James Millar, director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, said in the “ordinary course of things,” the devaluation should not impact students.

People’s confidence in the world economy is impacted, Millar said. Russia would not cause such a stir in the international market by itself but after bad news in Asia and shaky news in South America, the news from Russia has “shaken the market very badly,” he said.

The good news is that, so far, GW has not felt an impact.

“I haven’t seen any Russian students who were worrying about how they’re going to pay tuition at GW,” said Muriel Atkin, director of Russian and East European Studies.

If students demonstrate financial need caused by the crisis, work study and institutional aid may be provided, but no student has asked for aid so far.

“It’s a tough situation because we can’t give them federal aid because they’re not citizens,” said Andrew Deyell, executive assistant at the Office of Student Financial Assistance.

Reflecting on the aid GW extended to Asian students during the economic crisis last year, Deyell said, “You would think that if we did it for one group that we would do it for another.”

-Michelle Higgins