Via Marketwatch

Russia's sharp equity sell-off continued Thursday, with the RTS stock index tumbling 14% over the last three sessions, as supportive comments from President Dmitry Medvedev did little to calm investors' frayed nerves. In Moscow, the dollar-denominated RTS index fell 2.7% to close at 1,298 points. The ruble-denominated MICEX stock index dropped 3.7% to end at 1,073 points. In New York, the Market-Vectors Russia ETFwhich tracks the performance of the Russian stock market, fell 3.6%. Thursday's stock declines come on the heels of two consecutive days of sharp losses.

Reasons for the sell-off are many:

Investors have pulled money out of Russia in recent weeks on concerns over escalating geopolitical tensions with the West following the military conflict between Georgia and Russia, falling commodity prices and concerns about state interference in the economy. Russian equities have been battered by an ongoing sell-off, with the RTS stock index falling 43% year-to-date.