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  1. Given the ruble's collapse, you'd think there's only one way to depict its journey downwards.
  2. Well, you'd be wrong. Because there are many ways to look at what is currently happening to the Russian currency, as our short chronology shows.
  3. In July, this chart gave many people feel a sense of foreboding. Today, that feeling is increasingly justified.
  5. Then, in this image from early December, the point where the purple and the orange lines cross is where things get problematic.
  7. On Dec. 12, the rate of 57 rubles to the U.S. dollar seemed like a shocking figure. Not even a week later, many people who rely on the ruble would prefer this exchange rate to the one they get today.
  9. So how does the current crisis compare to figures since 1900? We explain in this analysis.
  11. On Dec. 15, you could sit and watch in real-time as the ruble lost and kept on losing value.
  13. So here, have a ruble-based picture of an iguana before things get really serious.
  15. Right, that's your comic relief for now. Because as Dec. 16 arrives, the devastating development of the ruble leaves little room for humor.
  17. In fact, it's not just the ruble that you should be keeping an eye on.
  19. Compared to previous ruble crises, this graph shows how the current one ranks at the moment. Where it may be headed is, of course, anybody's guess.
  21. And if you needed a drastic comparison to drive the point home, this information should do.
  23. What to do? How to deal with it? Well, if you're a state-run Russian media outlet, you change the proportions on your graph to reflect the growth of the dollar and the euro, rather than the fall of the ruble, so things don't look quite as dire.
  24. However, even adding some cheerful green doesn't guarantee you'll be able to pull off a convincingly upbeat presentation.
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