(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, April 7, 2020) As Russians are told to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, ever more of the 82 percent who are connected to the Internet are turning to that channel for news, with the share doing so rising from 83 percent to 89 percent over the last […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 15, 2020) President Vladimir Putin announced a new package of measures to support Russia’s businesses hit by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday. In the Russian president’s fourth televised statement in as many weeks about the coronavirus pandemic, he promised direct financial support to businesses hit hardest by the nationwide lockdown, including […]
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(Vladimir Golstein – Facebook – April 14, 2020 – facebook.com/vladimir.golstein/posts/10216416791108118) “Just came across a fascinating set of letters from Chekhov on the occasion of cholera epidemics of 1892. One more proof of what an amazing individual he was. Here is his letter to his friend and publisher, a conservative journalist, Suvorin, written from Chekhov’s Melikhovo estate. …” MELIHOVO, August 1. […]
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“China raced to contain a new outbreak of coronavirus in communities along its northern border with Russia …. seal[ing] off parts of its border with Russia … establish[ing] a field hospital …. Newly imported infections threaten to trigger a second wave of contagion in China …. The jump in infections also added to the uncertainty about the state of the […]
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The widespread, false belief that alcohol will protect drinkers from the coronavirus is helping drive a spike in liquor sales and domestic violence. “… Across the world, the coronavirus pandemic has sparked fears of increased alcohol abuse …. In Russia, two weeks into a nationwide partial lockdown, those fears are becoming reality … evidence mounts that a spike in alcohol […]
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The Russian government needs to spend up to $136 billion to fight the economic impact of the coronavirus, a group of liberal economists argues (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 14, 2020) The Russian government should dramatically accelerate its economic relief measures by launching a quantitative easing program and handing over large cash payments to Russian citizens, a group of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 13, 2020) As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 114,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 15,770 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 130 deaths. April 13: 3 things you need to […]
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Subject: Part Two Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2020 From: Sarah Lindemann-Komarova <echosiberia@gmail.com> Part Two COVID-19 Siberia: Life in the Village March 29- April 4 “Non-work Week #1” in Manjerok, Altai Republic By Sarah Lindemann-Komarova [Sarah Lindemann-Komarova has been a community development activist in Siberia since 1992. Currently she is focusing on research and writing about civil society in Russia.] With […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, April 10, 2020) Because of the pandemic, the Kremlin has delayed its plans for a constitutional amendment referendum from April 22 to some as yet unspecified date in the future, a delay that has not calmed but rather intensified discussions about it, both political and technical, Yuliya Krivonosova says. The Moscow journalist […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 13, 2020) Moscow is tightening its lockdown with digital passes this week as the Russian capital’s coronavirus count surpassed 10,000 cases and officials warned of a continued influx of patients. Here’s an overview of what the citywide pass system means for Muscovites’ everyday life: When does it start? Digital passes will become mandatory this […]
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A decade of health disinformation promoted by President Vladimir Putin of Russia has sown wide confusion, hurt major institutions and encouraged the spread of deadly illnesses. “… the pandemic has swept the globe … accompanied by a dangerous surge of false information – an ‘infodemic,’ according to the [WHO] …. Analysts say … Putin … has played a principal role […]
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“… While many countries have a clear ‘line of succession’ …. [f]or Russia, this line of succession is not clear beyond the first step, which is the prime minister assuming the duties of the president. But recent measures in response to COVID may provide some level of insight …. Most leaders in Russia are still out and about, making statements […]
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“… A nationwide vote on April 22 was supposed to finalize sweeping constitutional reforms that would allow [Putin] to stay in power until 2036 …. But after the coronavirus spread in Russia, that plebiscite had to be postponed – an action so abrupt that billboards promoting it already had been erected in Moscow and other big cities. Now under threat […]
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“After a Russian military contingent with medical equipment arrived in Rome last month, the Kremlin’s English-language media outlets RT and Sputnik found video gold. They highlighted an Italian man replacing an E.U. flag with a Russian one — deriding how Italy’s European partners “failed” to provide assistance to the coronavirus-stricken country while Russia ‘filled in.’ But when questions were raised […]
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To inquire about a subscription to the full Johnson’s Russia List e-mail newsletter, e-mail David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net Support the JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Donate Online: click here for direct link at GWU [check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#67 :: Monday, 13 April 2020 A project sponsored through […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 9, 2020) As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 88,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the pandemic and prevent its spread within the country. There have been 10,131 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 76 deaths. April 9: 3 things […]
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“The Moscow lockdown … is an unprecedented event in Russia’s post-Soviet history, as are the similar measures introduced across the country to slow the spread of COVID-19. Yet, the way that Russia has responded to the outbreak so far has followed an unusual pattern: early, swift action was followed by several weeks of uneasy lethargy, and then, as the number […]
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“The mayor of Moscow warned the coronavirus outbreak was only in the ‘foothills’ of its development in the Russian capital … that a serious test lay ahead as new infections nationwide shot up …. even as Moscow and many other regions … [were in] their second week … of lockdown …. In the bustling capital of more than 12.5 million […]
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“The 22-year old space station, which conducts research and scientific studies into space 400km above the Earth, is one of the most prominent examples of U.S.-Russian co-operation, under … joint management of Russia’s space agency and … NASA …. Russia’s Roscosmos is determined to stick to its rocket launch and return schedule to keep the ISS functioning and fully equipped […]
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“… Putin’s government … [reportedly] will roll out about 1 trillion rubles ($13.5 billion) of new spending …. Some of the money will … subsidiz[e] salaries of workers idled by isolation measures to fight the coronavirus …. The stimulus will be funded by increased borrowing, not Russia’s $165 billion rainy-day fund …. The central bank estimated that a government order […]
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“[On one day] … about 730,000 cars … perhaps 10% of Moscow’s 12.7 million population, left the capital, centre of Russia’s epidemic, for the countryside, according to Moscow’s transport department. … rais[ing] fears that the virus is being carelessly spread … anger[ing] … residents of outlying regions who had thought themselves at least relatively protected. … [S]ome locals are accusing […]
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“A U.S.-Russian space crew blasted off Thursday to the International Space Station following a tight quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos’ Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner lifted off as scheduled … from the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan …. The International Space Station is currently operated by Russian Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronauts Jessica Meir […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Adrien Henni – April 9, 2020) Russian retail players have been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, with the country on a month-long partial shutdown and major cities under strict quarantine, shopping habits have been transformed in a matter of days, forcing both online and offline sellers to react quickly. Even before the shutdown of many […]
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“… in an effort to curb … coronavirus, Russia’s Supreme Court imposed a moratorium on all hearings across the nation’s judicial system except for particularly ‘urgent cases.’ Individual judges get to decide what qualifies as urgent … sources in the justice system tell Meduza that they worry Russia’s COVID-19 containment measures are making it even harder … to get a […]
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Subject: COVID-19 Siberia Update: Life in the Village Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2020 From: Sarah Lindemann-Komarova <echosiberia@gmail.com> COVID-19 Siberia Update: Life in the Village: Part I: Background By Sarah Lindemann-Komarova [Sarah Lindemann-Komarova has been a community development activist in Siberia since 1992. Currently she is focusing on research and writing about civil society in Russia.] With Pictures: medium.com/@ECHOSiberia/covid-19-siberia-update-life-in-the-village-a3a964a5290a [DJ: Great […]
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The sparsely populated northern Komi Republic is one of Russia’s coronavirus hotspots. Six of its hospitals are now under quarantine. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Evan Gershkovich, Pjotr Sauer – April 9, 2020) On March 21, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article by a group of doctors who had for weeks been treating coronavirus patients in the […]
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MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) – There are no plans to create a system that will track tourists in Moscow, the press service for the Moscow information technologies department said on Thursday. “The Moscow information technologies department currently has no plans to create a system for tracking tourists in Moscow,” the department told Interfax. The Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday, citing […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Chris Weafer – April 9, 2020) Chris Weafer is a founding partner of independent macro consultancy Macro-Advisory. Russia is in a relatively good position to survive the COVID-19 crisis and several months of low oil revenues. This is because of the changes it was forced to make to its monetary and fiscal management as a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 9, 2020) Moscow’s legendary Bolshoi Theater has warned that it is at risk of closing down if the city’s coronavirus lockdown doesn’t end by September, its director Vladimir Urin said in an interview published Thursday. The Bolshoi canceled all performances, concerts and tours until April 30 due to the pandemic that has infected more […]
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“For … past 20 years Russians have been told they could not survive without … Putin. … The public was also told over the past few months that the threat of the new coronavirus was greatly exaggerated, that the Americans had invented it to harm China, and that Russia was well protected. Now, Moscow and many other cities are in […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 7, 2020) As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 74,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the pandemic and prevent its spread within the country. There have been 7,497 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 58 deaths. The number of confirmed […]
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WASHINGTON. April 7 (Interfax) – There are not enough applications from Russian citizens even for one flight from the United States amid the coronavirus epidemic, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said. “It is important that every compatriot who wishes to leave the United States for Russia gets registered in the relevant section of the Internet portal Gosuslugi. […]
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(Interfax – April 1, 2020) Russia is not planning to declare a state of emergency over the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. “No, this is not being discussed,” Interfax news agency quoted Peskov saying on 1 April, though it was later reported that President Putin had issued an order giving the government the right […]
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“… ‘Of those Russian supplies, 80 percent were completely useless or of little use to Italy. In other words, the delivery was more like a pretext’ …. for example, equipment for bacteriological disinfection and a field laboratory for chemical-biological sterilization—not the ventilators and personal protective equipment so desperately needed …. The Kremlin’s aid is indeed rather unusual. The medical experts […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 30, 2020) Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and prevent its spread within the country.Aleksander Avilov / Moskva News Agency As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 33,000 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the pandemic and prevent […]
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(PONARS Eurasia – Marlene Laruelle, Madeline McCann – March 24, 2020) Marlene Laruelle is Research Professor, Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES), Director of the Central Asia Program, and Co-director of PONARS Eurasia at George Washington University. Madeline McCann is Program Coordinator for PONARS Eurasia at George Washington University. (PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) Pandemics are […]
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(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Judy L. Twigg – March 24, 2020) Professor of Political Science, Virginia Commonwealth University Russia is on edge. Its current reported COVID-19 case count lags considerably some of its European and Asian neighbors’ counts, with fewer than 500 confirmed infections as of March 23. The prospect of those numbers accelerating has already prompted a slew […]
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(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – March 24, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/what-exactly-is-going-on-with-russia-s-low-coronavirus-numbers-/30507115.html) A woman, a 69-year-old Muscovite, died on March 24 at a clinic in the Russian capital specializing in treatment of the coronavirus. Authorities said she died of cancer that she had been battling, not the […]
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“… The news website RBC estimates that shutting down for a single day costs the average shopping and entertainment center in Moscow and the surrounding region roughly 60-155 million rubles (between $775,800 and $2 million). Fitness clubs … will lose as much as 300,000 rubles ($3,900) a day, while coffee shops in the city center will lose 100,000-200,000 rubles ($1,290-$2,585) […]
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(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – March 26, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/30511615.html) Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed at a Group of 20 (G20) video conference that a freeze be placed on economic sanctions to allow countries to better combat the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 500,000 worldwide […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 27, 2020) Russia’s state carrier Aeroflot is continuing to operate a limited number of flights abroad despite the Russian government’s order to ground all international flights that took effect at midnight Friday. The government decree published Thursday orders aviation authorities to halt all regular and charter flights to and from other countries, with the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 26, 2020) Russian doctors are preparing for an “explosive” escalation of the coronavirus situation across the country as the country’s number of cases began to increase exponentially, Moscow’s top infectious diseases specialist said Wednesday. As of Thursday, Russia has confirmed 840 cases of coronavirus and three deaths. Wednesday and Thursday saw Russia’s largest one-day […]
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(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Lyubov Chizhova, Aleksandr Litoi, Robert Coalson – ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, March 25, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/contagious-solidarity-as-russia-faces-growing-covid-19-crisis-independent-activists-gear-up-to-help/30509363.html) Aleksandra Krylenkova is a human rights activist with a long track record. In recent months, she has been campaigning in support of the defendants in the so-called Network […]
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Russia’s healthcare system was already working at full capacity before coronavirus. We spoke to one of the people organising Russian healthcare workers on workloads, optimisation and wages. (Opendemocracy.net – Elena Platonova – March 25, 2020) Elena Platonova is a journalist and correspondent for the finance section of the Russian publication Gazeta.ru. She researches and writes on education, gender and migration, […]
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Referendum originally planned for April is final hurdle to allowing Russia’s president to potentially stay in office until 2036 “In his first address to the nation since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic … Putin told citizens that an April referendum on changes to the country’s constitution would be postponed to help curb the spread of the illness. The national […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 25, 2020) As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 18,000 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the pandemic and prevent its spread within the country. There have been 658 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and one death. March 25: […]
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(Interfax – March 24, 2020) MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) – The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Russia has increased from 438 to 495 over the past 24 hours, according to the Stopcoronavirus state website monitoring the coronavirus situation in Russia. “Fifty-seven new cases of the novel coronavirus infection have been registered in 14 regions in Russia over the past […]
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(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Matthew Luxmoore – MOSCOW, March 20, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/with-europe-in-lockdown-skeptical-russians-are-told-no-reason-to-panic-/30498837.html) The COVID-19 pandemic has spread throughout China, Western Europe, and the United States, threatening to paralyze major economies and subjecting much of the world’s population to state-enforced lockdowns. Leaders are warning of disruptions to […]
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Doctors are worried that the coronavirus pandemic will expose equipment shortages and old facilities. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jake Cordell, Evan Gershkovich – March 19, 2020) For the past five years, nurse Svetlana Shchedrina has been stowing away protective masks and latex gloves. Right now she has two large boxes of each. Shchedrina, 37, told The Moscow Times she […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 20, 2020) As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 10,000 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the pandemic and prevent its spread within the country. There have been 199 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and one death. Below are […]
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