Dear CCI Readers,
A number of you have asked how Russia is faring during this pandemic, what are their COVID-19 numbers and what is the Russian government doing about it. We have the following just in from Andrew Korybko, an American Moscow-based political analyst.
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
Russia Is Responding Better Than Everyone Else to World War C
By Andrew Korybko
March 27, 2020
The largest country in the world is faring surprisingly well when it comes to surviving World War C, which is greatly attributable to Russia’s proactive measures in taking COVID-19 as serious as possible, including through border closures and the forthcoming imposition of what can be described as “lockdown-lite”.
Ahead Of The Curve
World War C has taken the planet by storm and is set to continue wreaking havoc across the world, but one country has thus far largely avoided the disastrous socio-economic consequences of COVID-19. Russia is faring surprisingly well when it comes to surviving this crisis, which is greatly attributable to its proactive measures in taking this pandemic as seriously as possible. It was one of the first countries to curtail the entry of Chinese citizens, as elaborated upon by the author in his piece last month titled “Russia Bans Most Chinese From Entry: ‘Pure Racism’ Or ‘Preventive Reaction’?“, and it was also the first in the world to do the same with Iranians, the latter of which are now suffering one of the worst viral outbreaks. These measures might have been controversial to some observers at the time, but are now vindicated in hindsight as having been essential to Russia’s success, according to the country’s World Health Organization (WHO) bureau chief.
Putin’s Proactive Policies
Earlier this week, President Putin strongly recommended that his people exercise the utmost caution with respect to this deadly virus. According to the official Kremlin website, he told them the following:
“I am addressing all our citizens. Let us not rely on chance as we tend to do in Russia. Do not think, as we usually do, that this cannot happen to you. It can happen to anyone. And then we will very quickly see what is now happening in many western countries, in Europe and across the ocean, happen here in Russia. We must strictly comply with all the recommendations. We must protect ourselves, our families and friends, and we must adopt a more disciplined and responsible approach. Trust me: the best thing to do now is stay home.”
He also unveiled a generous socio-economic support package that RBTH handily summarized as including the following: