COVID-19 pandemic in Russia

• 1. First Cases In Tyumen And Chita

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  On the 31st of January 2020, two Chinese citizens tested positive for the virus in Russia. One person was located in Tyumen, a city deep within Siberia. The other individual was found in Chita, situated far to the east in the Russian Far East. These were the first confirmed cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in the country. Early prevention measures included restricting the China, Russia border and extensive testing. The infection spread from Italy on the 2nd of March, leading to additional measures such as cancelling events, closing schools, theatres, and museums. A non-working period was declared which lasted until the 11th of May 2020 after two extensions. By the end of March 2020, COVID-19 lockdowns were imposed by the majority of federal subjects of Russia, including Moscow.

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• 2. Digital Passes And Regional Lockdowns

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  Moscow's mayor Sergey Sobyanin signed a decree introducing a digital pass system to enforce the coronavirus lockdown on the 11th of April. Residents required such a permit to travel around the city using personal and public transport. Different types of passes included travelling to work, visiting hospitals and clinics, and private trips. Such permits became mandatory on the 15th of April. On the 30th of March, similar orders or recommendations were announced in numerous other federal jurisdictions. Many more regions announced restrictions over the next few days. Chechen authorities urged the population to stay at their places of permanent residence on the 28th of March. They banned entry to Grozny for anyone except emergency services, food supplies, government officials, police, and journalists. On the 30th of March, the self-isolation regime was announced in republics of Altai, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Karelia, Khakassia, Mordovia, Udmurtia and Tuva.

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• 3. Sputnik V Registration And Hesitancy

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  On the 11th of August, President Putin said in a meeting that the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology was the first vaccine against the coronavirus to be registered. He stated that one of his daughters was vaccinated. The previous day, the Association of Clinical Research Organisations urged the head of the Ministry of Health to delay registration due to incomplete testing. The head of the RDIF stated that 20 countries had requested in total 1 billion doses of the vaccine. Mass vaccinations began in December 2020, starting with primarily doctors, medical workers and teachers. Vaccinations began in Moscow on the 5th of December and were expanded to all other regions by the 15th of December. Despite the availability of a vaccine many Russians refused to get vaccinated leading to new waves of infections. During the summer and fall of 2021 Russia experienced severe waves of the Delta variant. Mortality rates reached record levels. Authorities introduced QR codes for vaccinated individuals restricting access to malls, restaurants and other public places for the unvaccinated.

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• 4. Rosstat Versus Official Death Tolls

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  According to detailed data published by the Federal State Statistics Service Rosstat, 114,268 people with COVID-19 died between April and November 2020. However, over 300,000 excess deaths were reported in the same time period. This suggests that the official pandemic death tally greatly underestimated the true number of COVID-19 related deaths. On the 6th of November, Russian statistics published that 55,671 people had died with coronavirus before the 30th of September 2020. The official death toll was 20,891. On the 28th of December, the Federal State Statistics Service said that the amount of recorded deaths from all causes between January and November had risen by 229,700 compared to 2019. Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Chairman of the Government, said that more than 81% of these deaths could be attributed to COVID-19. Analysis of excess deaths from official government statistics showed that Russia had its largest ever annual population drop in peacetime, with the population declining by 997,000 between October 2020 and September 2021.

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• 5. Economic Recovery And Population Decline

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  On the 2nd of June, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that the government would launch a 5 trillion ruble recovery plan to counteract the pandemic's economic impact. That sum equated to approximately 73 billion dollars at the time. By the end of 2021, there were nearly 10.5 million cases and nearly 310,000 deaths in the country. Russia had the tenth-highest number of confirmed cases in the world after the United States, India, France, Brazil, Germany, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan. According to a Levada poll conducted in November 2021, percentage of those who are concerned about getting infected with COVID-19 is 48%. Those not concerned made up 50%, while 39% personally knew someone who survived COVID-19 infection in acute form. A significant portion of the population believed that COVID-19 was a biological weapon, with this belief being much more widespread among older respondents.

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• 6. Deaths Of Politicians And Cultural Icons

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  On the 23rd of September, it was reported that a State Duma deputy from the Communist Party, Vakha Agaev, had died from the virus. He became the first death among State Duma members. On the 16th of May, Viktor Shudegov, former member of the Federation Council and the State Duma, leader of A Just Russia party's regional office in Udmurtia, passed away at age 67. Vladimir Lopukhin, former Minister of Fuel and Energy of Russia, died on the 26th of May at age 68. Mikhail Ignatyev, former Head of the Chuvash Republic, died on the 18th of June at age 58. In entertainment, Alexander Vedernikov, conductor and music director of the Bolshoi Theatre, died on the 29th of October at age 56. Boris Plotnikov, actor, died on the 2nd of December at age 71. Vasily Lanovoy, film and theatre actor, People's Artist of Russia, died on the 29th of January 2021 at age 87. Irina Antonova, art historian and Director of the Moscow's Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, died on the 30th of November at age 98.

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