Russia between outrage and hysteria over Cyprus

State TV runs special reports, Prime Minister Medvedev refers to "Soviet methods," populist Zhirinovsky wears black - all because of the Cyprus bank levy. But, how is the banking crisis viewed by the Russian public? 

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin described the bank levy initially planned for Cyprus as "unfair, unprofessional and dangerous." Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev even spoke of 'expropriation' reminiscent of the Soviet era.

The levy has since been rejected by the Mediterranean island's parliament. The Russian TV station RTR interrupted its programming to report on the vote. It showed tables of Russian companies registered in Cyprus and the amount of Russian money in the island's banks. But there was no mention as to whether those billions had been properly taxed in Russia, or whether it was "dirty money" from semi-legal enterprises.

Read more: Russia between outrage and hysteria over Cyprus | Europe | DW.DE | 21.03.2013