Russia’s ruble drops to 14-month low after “rebellion” challenges Putin’s leadership [Video]

The ruble reached a 14-month low against the dollar and major equity markets were agitated Monday after an aborted weekend mutiny in Russia that stoked concerns about stability in the nuclear-armed country.

The chief of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Saturday that he’d agreed to halt his forces’ “movement inside Russia, and to take further steps to de-escalate tensions,” in an agreement brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. 

The Wagner group boss earlier ordered his forces to march toward Moscow after unleashing a long series of videotaped remarks threatening to topple Russia’s military leadership, which he blasted as having misled the country and Russian President Vladimir Putin himself about the Ukraine war. 

While the advance was called off before it reached Moscow, analysts said the rebellion showed President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power was more fragile than previously thought.

It also added to unease on trading floors, where investors last …