Everybody panic! The Local has inadvertently sparked what the Swedish press is referring to as the 'Tingeling Crisis'.

Now as crises go, it's hardly Cuba or the Berlin Blockade. But in a land such as Sweden, gripped with Eurovision fever, revelations that the Russians were less than pleased with an interval song and dance number at the Melodifestivalen final have quickly spread far and wide.

It started innocently enough: communist whores with red stars on their panties, rampant Russian gangsters, wild Cossack dancers and a bear on a chain... what could possibly go wrong?

"We do not react to eccentricity by some lunatics whose Russophobia should place them in an asylum rather than on Globen's stage," the [Russian] embassy told The Local on Monday morning.

Oh, that.

Regional tabloid giant Aftonbladet led the charge with a front page splash and the rest of the Swedish papers soon followed.

Like political voting patterns at the Eurovision, the situation soon spiraled out of control.

State broadcaster SVT sent a bouquet of flowers to the Russian embassy as a gesture of goodwill. The embassy responded that, as far as it was concerned, the danger had passed and Euro-harmony could prevail.

Expressen said SVT was foolish to have apologised.

The state broadcaster said it never really had apologised and the retraction was retracted.

The comedian behind the skit said he might have to rethink a planned Trans-Siberian railroad trip this summer.

The Social Democrats' foreign policy spokesman said the Swedish foreign ministry should stand up for freedom of expression.

Even Vladimir Lenin was dusted off and dragged into the debate.

Furthermore, the finer points of Russian sensibilities and Swedish humour have been discussed at length on television and radio talk shows.

The upshot: Nuclear war has been averted for now. But never again must we allow such a frightening array of outdated clichés to threaten our peace and security.

In case you missed it, here's the clip that almost pushed us to the brink.