Cyprus - A Blessing for Russia

The financial crisis in Cyprus raises two interesting questions. Of Russia and Europe, which needs the other more? And despite the outrage from Russian depositors who’ve lost money in their Cypriot bank accounts, could the crisis ultimately help Russia?

At first glance, it seems that Russia depends heavily on the rest of Europe. Almost 60 percent of Russian exports — primarily oil and gas — go to the European Union and other European countries like Switzerland.

Russians have deposited billions of euros in Cyprus’s banks, and the controversial decision by the lenders who bailed out Cyprus’s flailing economy to impose a so-called haircut on large depositors affected many Russians.