Demand for Russia’s Sputnik-5 Vaccine Exceeds Supply Abroad and at Home

Russia Regions Map

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says demand for the Russian vaccine far exceeds supply in foreign countries …. But the same situation holds in many parts of Russia where there is now not enough vaccine to meet domestic demand […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Says Sputnik V Production Deals Reached in Key EU States” – AFP

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

“… Russia[] Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) [head] Kirill Dmitriev … [announced] ‘agreements with companies from Italy, Spain, France and Germany to launch … Sputnik V [production]’ … allow[ing] … Sputnik [vaccine supplies] to the European market ‘once … approval is granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).’ If approved Sputnik would become the first non-Western coronavirus [vaccine] … certified for […]

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COVID-19 in Russia: What Russians Expected, What They Got, and What They Think About It

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo – Sarah Wilson Sokhey – Feb, 22, 2021) Sarah Wilson Sokhey is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. The coronavirus pandemic in Russia posed the same myriad challenges as in many countries: a devastating loss of life, strained healthcare resources, and an economic crisis. In Russia’s case, the pandemic also came at […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Looming Supply Glut of Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine Could Pave Way for Exports” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

Pharmaceutical industry experts told The Moscow Times that manufacturers are set to overshoot targets while Russians remain indifferent to the jab. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Felix Light, Pjotr Sauer – Feb. 19, 2021) A surge in production of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine combined with domestic distrust of the jab could lead to a boom in exports, pharmaceutical executives […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Has One of the World’s Highest Excess Death Rates. Why Aren’t Russians Angrier?” – Moscow Times

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

… A Russian tendency to place less value on human life than people in more developed countries may also play a role in the tendency to accept large numbers of Covid-19 fatalities […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Covid vaccine faces global production hurdles; Moscow has entrusted future of Sputnik V jab to sprawling network of private companies around world” – Financial Times/ Henry Foy, Max Seddon

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

“Russia’s coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V … if it is going to meet a target of vaccinating almost one-tenth of the world’s population … must rely on a factory in Brasília, production lines in South Korea and a plant in the Indian city of Hyderabad. … With limited production capacity in Russia, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), … managing Sputnik […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia registers 14,207 new Covid-19 cases, 394 deaths in past 24 hours – HQ” – Interfax

Coronavirus File Photo adapted from image at cdc.gov

MOSCOW. Feb 15 (Interfax) – Russia registered 14,207 new Covid-19 cases and 394 deaths in the past 24 hours, the coronavirus response headquarters said in a statement on Monday. “Over the past day, 14,207 Covid-19 cases were confirmed in 85 regions of Russia, including 1,559 asymptomatic cases identified proactively (11.0%),” the headquarters said. The number of new Covid-19 cases has […]

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Pandemic Death Toll in Russia Passes 70,000 But Daily Deaths Fall and More Regions Stabilize

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

… experts say … overall figures and the numbers Moscow reports … understate the impact of the pandemic, … many suggesting that the total number of deaths is not 70,000 but 110,000 or more […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Covid-19 vaccination using Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine starts in DPR and LPR” – Interfax

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

The vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus has begun in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) using the Russian vaccine […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Pandemic Pushed Russians’ Household Finances to Decade Low” – Moscow Times

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The coronavirus pandemic pushed Russian living standards to their lowest level in a decade, [according to] new economic data published by the country’s statistics service […]

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Moscow Would Like to Vaccinate 80-90 Percent of Russians But Expects to Do Far Fewer

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

Consumer affairs chief Anna Popova says … Moscow would like to vaccinate 80 to 90 percent … by the end of 2021, but experts say … even 60 percent … would be “an extremely serious achievement” […]

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During Lockdown, Russian Women Drank More, Gained Weight and Took Less Care of Themselves, New Study Finds

Medical Symbol with Pole, Serpents, Wings, adapted from image at lanl.gov

One in seven acknowledged drinking more, one in 14 smoking, and slightly more than one in four overeating. Seventeen percent said … lockdown … led to conflicts among family members […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia past peak of coronavirus epidemic – Rospotrebnadzor’s Epidemiology Institute” – Interfax

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) – It looks like Russia has passed the peak of the coronavirus epidemic, and there is currently a trend toward stabilization, Deputy Director of Rospotrebnadzor’s Central Research Institute of Epidemiology for Clinical Analysis Natalia Pshenichnaya said. “We’re observing a certain trend toward stabilization,” Pshenichnaya told journalists on Friday. “Daily morbidity may still fluctuate, considering that Russia […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia struggles to distribute its vaccine to the regions; Putin calls for ‘mass’ inoculation as data suggest government is delivering fewer jabs than promised” – Financial Times/ Henry Foy

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

“… Russia’s government says 1.5m vaccines have been distributed … [with] hundreds of thousands more … ready … [but] doctors and officials … [indicate] a far bleaker reality of limited supplies and delayed shipments. … Moscow’s clinics have been busy vaccinating … [but] regions outside of the capital have struggled to secure adequate supplies, calling into question … [governmental] ability […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Pivotal moment approaching in coronavirus crisis, situation to start improving – PM Mishustin” – Interfax

Coronavirus File Photo adapted from image at cdc.gov

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is expecting the start of recovery from the socioeconomic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Most Small Businesses Still Struggling, Warns Top Business Lobby; Small companies twice as likely to be hit by pandemic” – Moscow Times

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Russia’s small companies [reportedly] were almost twice as likely to suffer negative consequences from the coronavirus pandemic than their larger counterparts […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Why I Got the Russian Vaccine” – New York Times/ Andrew E. Kramer

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

“A New York Times reporter juggled fears engendered by the politicized rollout of the Sputnik V vaccine with the urge to gain protection from the deadly virus.” “… Russia’s coronavirus vaccine … Sputnik V[] [is] made at a factory outside of Moscow from genetically modified human cold viruses. Like so much else in Russia, … [its] rollout … was entangled […]

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Most Russians See Coronavirus as Top Event of 2020, Worry 2021 Will Be Tense

New Year's Eve on Red Square with Fireworks, Kremlin, Saint Basil's, Crowds

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – Jan. 6, 2021) The Levada Center has just released the results of its latest annual poll on the most significant events of the past year, and, predictably, the global coronavirus outbreak tops the list. As many as 39 percent of Russians believe the pandemic was the most significant event of 2020, while […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Gamaleya’s Vaccine Works” – New York Times/ Jonathan Corum, Carl Zimmer

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

“The Gamaleya Research Institute, part of Russia’s Ministry of Health, developed a coronavirus vaccine known as Sputnik V or Gam-Covid-Vac. Gamaleya announced in December that the vaccine had an efficacy of 91.4 percent. Russia is using it in a mass vaccination campaign, and it is now being distributed in Argentina, Belarus and other countries ….” Click here for: “How Gamaleya’s […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Angela Merkel mulls Russian answer to EU coronavirus vaccine bottleneck” – The Times (UK)/ Oliver Moody

Coronavirus File Photo adapted from image at cdc.gov

“… Merkel and … Putin have discussed the possibility of making a controversial Russian vaccine in the EU as bottlenecks in supply slow down [some] [European] inoculation [efforts] …. but only [after] … Sputnik V … [is] authorised by the EU medicines regulator. … [which] could take several months … [I]t is thought … the vaccine has yet to be […]

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RUSSIALINK: “5 Questions About Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine, Answered” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

Hours after Pfizer-BioNTech made headlines … winning the first official general-use vaccine approval in the western world, … Putin ordered large-scale vaccination with [Russia’s] domestically produced] Sputnik V to start … late next week […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin orders start of large-scale coronavirus vaccination in Russia ‘next week’” – Meduza

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

“… Putin [reportedly] has asked Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova to start large-scale coronavirus vaccination … next week ….’… more than two million doses have already been produced … or will be produced in the next few days …. [with vaccinations prioritizing] doctors and teacher[s].’ … The Sputnik V vaccine is … undergoing Phase III clinical trials, involving 40,000 volunteers. […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia registers 23,675 new Covid-19 cases, another all-time high of 507 deaths – HQ” – Interfax

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

Russia registered 23,675 new Covid-19 cases, the all-time high of 507 deaths, and more than 25,000 recoveries in the past 24 hours, the coronavirus response headquarters said […]

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Is the WHO Too Soft on Russia? Critics fear Russia is using the WHO’s structural weaknesses to validate its coronavirus approach.

File Photo of World Health Assembly at WHO, with Alex M. Azar II at the Podium, adapted from image featured at geneva.usmission.gov

… Russian and international health experts have raised fresh concerns over the WHO’s public stance, saying … defense of questionable statistics and overly pro-government comments demonstrate[] Russia’s influence … and highlights … organizational weaknesses […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s health system under strain as the virus surges back” – AP/ Daria Litvinova

Medical Symbol with Pole, Serpents, Wings, adapted from image at lanl.gov

“… Russia’s health care system, vast yet underfunded, has been under significant strains … as the pandemic surges again and daily infections and virus death … break records. Across the country, 81% of hospital beds … set aside for coronavirus patients were full … Wednesday. Three times last week, the Russian government reported … record … daily deaths … [T]he […]

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RUSSIALINK: “In a Poor Russian City, Coronavirus Hits Hard; The pandemic has combined with poverty to push Ivanovo’s healthcare system to its breaking point.” – Moscow Times

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Felix Light – IVANOVO, Nov. 20, 2020) In this hardscrabble city in central Russia, the morgues are full and well-paid jobs are scarce. Though many of Russia’s outlying regions are struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Ivanovo — a working-class city of 400,000 located 300 kilometers northeast of Moscow — is coping […]

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Kremlin Must Start Now and Work Hard to Overcome Russian Resistance to Getting Immunized, Experts Say

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Nov. 15, 2020) With the prospect that one or more vaccines against the coronavirus will be available in the near future, the Russian government must launch a massive effort to overcome the skepticism of Russians and get the vast majority of them to get the shots when they become available, experts say. […]

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Bah Humbug! Russian Santa Faces Fine For Protesting Ban On Holiday Celebrations

Coronavirus File Photo adapted from image at cdc.gov

… Moscow police detained a man dressed as Grandfather Frost … on Red Square near the Kremlin … where he was protesting a city ban on holiday celebrations […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia registers 22,410 new Covid-19 cases, all-time high of 22,055 recoveries, all-time high of 442 deaths – HQ”- Interfax

Coronavirus File Photo adapted from image at cdc.gov

Russia registered 22,410 new Covid-19 cases, the all-time high of 22,055 recoveries, and the all-time high of 442 deaths in the past 24 hours, the coronavirus response headquarters said […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “25,000 medical students are sent out to help Russia’s COVID-struck hospitals” – Barents Observer/ Atle Staalesen

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

“The virus is putting the healthcare system on its knees. A massive number of students are now sent out to aid.” “… According to the federal healthcare chief, several regions are now running out of available hospital bed[s]. … About 270,000 additional hospital beds are now being prepared for new patients. But medical staff is increasingly … [facing a] shortage. […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Pandemic to cease seriously affecting Russia’s economy at start of 2021, budget to be key issue – Belousov”- Interfax

Coronavirus File Photo adapted from image at cdc.gov

MOSCOW. Nov 11 (Interfax) – The coronavirus will very likely cease substantially affecting Russia’s economy by the end of 2020 or early 2021, while the main issue next year will be the budget as well as the necessity to replace budget expenditures with investments, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said on Wednesday during the “Strong Ideas for a New […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russian Ruble, Stocks Surge on Vaccine Optimism; Airlines and oil companies top performers as Pfizer announcement on vaccine effectiveness buoys markets.” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 9, 2020) The Russian ruble and stock market soared Monday, hitting their strongest levels in months as global markets cheered positive news from one of the frontrunners in the coronavirus vaccine race. American pharma giant Pfizer and German BioNTech said their vaccine, currently in Phase 3 medical trials, was 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Ambassador Sullivan’s Interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta

John Sullivan file image, adapted from image featured at usembassy.gov

(U.S. Embassy Moscow – Oct. 23, 2020) Mr. Konstantin Remchukov, Editor-in-Chief, Nezavisimaya Gazeta NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA: So, Mr. Ambassador, as you mentioned, the time for the last months was unusual, so many frustration for people, so many bad news. And culture has always been a good retreat for people to boost up their energy, morale, spirits, and everything. So I’m very […]

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RUSSIALINK: “‘We’re in Hell’: Russia’s Second Wave of Covid-19 Is Catching the Regions Off Guard” – Moscow Times

Medical Symbol with Pole, Serpents, Wings, adapted from image at lanl.gov

Medics in hospitals across Russia voiced frustration that authorities failed to use the summer respite to prepare for a second coronavirus wave. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Pjotr Sauer – Oct. 27, 2020) In a video widely shared across Russian social media last week, dozens of bodies wrapped in black plastic bags line the walls of a decrepit basement in […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Pandemic to cost Russia 9% of GDP in 2020-2021 – Siluanov” – Interfax

Anton Siluanov file photo

Measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic and cover the budget revenue shortfall will cost Russia around 9% of its GDP in 2020-2021, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Putin: Russia’s Rise in Coronavirus Deaths Due to Improved Methodology” – Moscow Times

Medical Symbol with Pole, Serpents, Wings, adapted from image at lanl.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oct. 22, 2020) Coronavirus deaths are on the rise in Russia partly because of improved cause-of-death methodology, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday. Russia’s national coronavirus information center has confirmed a total of 25,242 Covid-19 deaths after reporting record daily fatalities of over 200 in 10 of the last 15 days. By comparison, daily Covid-19 deaths […]

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‘Crisis Of Trust’: Russia’s Pandemic Fatigue Combines With Wariness Of Expert Advice

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

Across the world, a growing ‘pandemic fatigue’ appears to be exacerbating the spread of the coronavirus …. Many governments have brought back restrictions they had lifted …. But while many European countries have imposed stringent measures again … Russia has in many ways carried on as normal […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Peskov denies that Russia could have shipped defective ventilators to U.S.” – Interfax

Dmitry Peskov file photo adapted from image at kremlin.ru/wikimedia commons

MOSCOW. Oct 21 (Interfax) – Russia could not have shipped defective ventilators to the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “This couldn’t have happened. These ventilators are broadly used in medical institutions and hospitals in very different cities across Russia. Some ventilators might break down. Any device sometimes breaks down and requires repairs,” Peskov told journalists when commenting on […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Moscow Mayor: Return to Full Lockdown ‘Impossible'” – Moscow Times

Coronavirus File Photo adapted from image at cdc.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oct. 19, 2020) Moscow will not return to a full coronavirus lockdown like it did in spring as long as residents abide by current restrictions, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Monday as new cases continued to rise. The epicenter of Russia’s Covid-19 outbreak, Moscow confirmed 5,376 new infections in the past 24 hours and almost 367,000 […]

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RUSSIALINK: “2 in 3 Medics Say Russia Unprepared for Second Coronavirus Wave – Poll” – Moscow Times

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

Around two-thirds of Russian medics believe that the country is not ready for a second wave of the coronavirus, according to a survey published by the VTimes news website Thursday […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Approves Second Covid-19 Vaccine Before Phase 3 Trials” – Bloomberg/ Jake Rudnitsky

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

“Russian health authorities approved a Covid-19 vaccine created by a former biological weapons research laboratory for public use, marking the second time the Kremlin has bypassed accepted scientific protocol as it tries to field a defense against the pandemic. A vaccine developed by the Vector State Virology and Biotechnology Center in Siberia has been registered, … Putin said …. registered […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Putin’s entourage inoculated against coronavirus” – Interfax

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

MOSCOW. Oct 6 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said that many of his relatives and friends have been injected with a Russian coronavirus vaccine. “In my entourage, very many people close to me, and close relatives, we had them vaccinated. All staff who work around me. We are talking about tens of people,” Putin said at a meeting with […]

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Pandemic has Pushed 6.1 Percent of Middle-Class Russians into Poverty, HSE Experts Say

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Sept. 26, 2020) The coronavirus pandemic has cut the incomes of 24 percent of the members of the Russian middle class and driven 6.1 percent of them into the ranks of the country’s poor, according to an analysis of Rosstat data by scholars at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics. Before the pandemic, […]

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Coronavirus Numbers Rising Rapidly in Moscow, Major Russian Cities

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, September 27, 2020) Coronavirus infections are rising rapidly in Moscow and other major Russian cities, with the number of cases in the capital jumping from 1050 three days ago to more than 2,000 today, the result, experts say, of the start of flu season and declining caution among Russians (svpressa.ru/economy/article/276981/, kp.ru/daily/217187.5/4293934/, regnum.ru/news/3074643.html, […]

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RUSSIALINK: “How Will a Second Wave Affect Russia’s Economy? The damage won’t be as devastating, but the long-term impacts will linger.” – Moscow Times

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jake Cordell – Sept. 29, 2020) Russia’s economy should be able to weather the ravages of a second wave of the coronavirus better than the first, economists say, but uncertainty and volatility will remain for the foreseeable future. As Russia records a sharp spike in new infections and Moscow starts to roll out new restrictions […]

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