“Russians paid Soviet ruble debt in devalued currency.
full pensions bought a bag of potatoes in the 90s.”
Historically that is the preferred way to pay debts you can’t afford.
Just inflate the money. You owe a trillion dollars. If a loaf of bread costs $ 1 trillion, then your entire debt becomes a loaf of bread. Of course that wipes out everyone’s lifetime of savings, but if you’re not elected by the saver class anyway, who cares.
Many interesting antidotes from Germany following the Weimar collapse.
When money dies is a worthy read for anyone interested. free PDf available at Mises.org. the diary of Frau Eisenmenter is another facinating read of post WWI Life in Vienna dealing with currency collapse. Also a free read PDFS.