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Through acquisitions and innovative management, Moscow Joint Stock Commercial Bank ''Vozrozhdeniye'' (V.Bank), had grown to be one of the largest banks in Russia. In a market with many competitors of varying strength and reliability in an unstable business environment, V.Bank was attempting to become a true commercial bank, fashioned after the operations of western banks. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had undertaken a World Bank contract to assist V.Bank in this process. However, in October 1998, as the Russian economy grew worse, management of V.Bank wondered if it would be able to survive the crisis, let alone continue towards its goal of transforming its operations into those that were competitive with the western banks. This case is appropriate for courses where the goal is to provide students with the ability to understand and forecast broad economic forces and incorporate this information into a decision-making process. The student is forced to make strategic decisions in a situation of uncertainty and instability, and in crisis mode, in an emerging market. Issues that need to be resolved include privatization, economic and monetary policy, IMF and World Bank intervention, societal stability, and government regulation.