Moscow Continues to Send Mixed Signals on Pandemic and Its Handling

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 6 – More mixed signals came from Moscow today about the pandemic and how to handle it. Vladimir Putin called for ending restrictions as soon as possible, an appeal that many will read as an order to lift them even more quickly than they have been in recent days (ria.ru/20200606/1572566561.html).

            But at the same time, the justice ministry ruled that all limitations that had been introduced by the center and the regions “do not violate the rights and interests of citizens,” a finding others will read as allowing these restrictions to continue without challenge (minjust.gov.ru/ru/novosti/minyust-rossii-zavershil-rabotu-po-analizu-praktiki-primeneniya-normativnyh-pravovyh-aktov).

            Even the statistics the government released pointed in different directions. The number of new infections was 8855, bringing the total to date to 458,689, with the number of deaths from the coronavirus rising by 197 to 5725 (t.me/COVID2019_official/746). But of greater concern, the number of new cases continued to exceed the number cured (sibreal.org/a/30656045.html).

            Russian media reflected these mixed messages with some outlets noting that medical personnel were dying in places where the number of cases continues to rise (newizv.ru/news/society/06-06-2020/orel-mediki-umirayut-ot-koronavirusa-a-gorozhane-prazdnuyut-okonchanie-karantina), and stories divided as to whether Russia will ever return to normal or will very soon, leaving the population confused (mk.ru/economics/2020/06/06/oprosy-rossiyan-porazili-unyniem-k-prezhney-zhizni-ne-vernemsya-nikogda.html.

            Providing some hope, the health ministry says it has registered a second medicine for treatment of the coronavirus (rosminzdrav.ru/news/2020/06/06/14151-minzdrav-rossii-vydal-registratsionnoe-udostoverenie-na-eschyo-odin-preparat-dlya-lecheniya-covid-19); but other experts say that regardless, the pandemic may continue to infect and kill for another several years (ura.news/articles/1036280350).

            And that means that Russians will face the challenge of protecting themselves against the coronavirus even while their economy only slowly recovers from the shocks of this year, a combination that will create many problems for them and for those who rule over them, experts say (ura.news/articles/1036280350).

            All this confusion, Kirill Martynov of Novaya gazeta says, reflects the inherent problems of an authoritarian state whose top-down controls are weakening but whose ruler insists on his very own “sovereign epidemiology” which is costing Russians their lives and well-being (novayagazeta.ru/articles/2020/06/06/85725-suverennaya-epidemiologi).

            The problems Russia faces as a result of the pandemic may pale before those the economy confronts it with. Ever more economists are saying that the government’s failure to give money directly to the population will slow recovery, and others are arguing that the Kremlin’s attempt to go back to a raw materials export model will be even more destructive (ura.news/news/1052435308 and realtribune.ru/news/authority/4393).

            Meanwhile, in other pandemic-related news from Russia,

·         A psychologist predicts that Russia will be swamped with divorces after the restrictions are limited, pushing down still further the number of births (ura.news/news/1052435322).

·         The Kremlin faces real challenges in managing the vote on the referendum. Among them is the fact that distance voting will allow groups that typically did not vote in the past to cast their ballots, forcing the powers that be to figure out how to direct propaganda at them effectively (ura.news/articles/1036280371).

·         Even Russia’s pagans are restricting their religious celebrations because of the pandemic (mariuver.com/2020/06/06/otmenili-molenija/).

·         And observers say that the situation in Russian-occupied Crimea will be especially dire after the restrictions are limited. Economic conditions will be bad, and people will be angry that the occupiers aren’t addressing them (apostrophe.ua/article/society/2020-06-06/kryim-posle-karantina-sotsialnyie-kataklizmyi-i-golyie-koroli/33203).