Russians Now Facing What Americans Did at Start of Pandemic – A Shortage of Toilet Paper

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 30 – When news of the pandemic first broke, Americans bought toilet paper in such large amounts that a shortage of that essential product emerged. Now, Russians are facing rising prices and shortages because in the absence of trash collections in many places, less paper is being reprocessed and less toilet paper produced (iz.ru/1015462/mariia-perevoshchikova-evgeniia-pertceva/zolotoi-rulon-tualetnoi-bumage-grozit-podorozhanie).

            Today, after several days of decline, the number of new coronavirus infections grew, with that number again outpacing the number of cures, the total number of deaths from the pandemic in Russia rising to 4555 and the total number of infections to date to nearly 400,000 (sibreal.org/a/30643257.html).

            What is especially disturbing is that rising debt is forcing many Russians to work illegally lest they go under financially even though that is putting ever more of them at risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus and putting even more strain on the Russian healthcare and economic systems (ehorussia.com/new/node/20881).

            Despite the willingness of some to work illegally, unemployment both officially registered and actual is rising rapidly, with some predicting it will amount to more than 15 percent in the near future (krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/76785). And experts warn the government isn’t prepared for what will happen in a second wave (business-gazeta.ru/article/470330).

            Many individuals and companies now face bankruptcy because their loans are greater than their incomes and because, as a result, banks are refusing to offer new loans and the government is tightening its requirements for aid as well (krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/76823, krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/76819, krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/76817 and krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/76787).

            And the Kremlin continues to use the coronavirus as cover for increasing repression: United Russia has now proposed increasing fines against those who criticize or offend the powers that be (krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/76807).  

            Meanwhile, other pandemic-related developments in Russia today include:

·         An investigation finds that Russian courts have not worked well during the pandemic (profile.ru/politics/izolyacionnoe-pravosudie-kak-sudy-rabotayut-v-karantin-324954/).

·         Russians like people everywhere are coming up with funny or frightening or even political face masks (themoscowtimes.com/2020/05/30/moscows-face-mask-fashions-embrace-the-funny-weird-and-nonsensical-a70407).

·         The Russian health ministry has given approval to the first COVID-19 vaccine (echo.msk.ru/news/2651899-echo.html).

·         14,000 Russians who have travelled from one region to another are now in 14-day quarantine (novayagazeta.ru/articles/2020/05/30/85615-okey-ugol).

·         As the Kremlin is pushing for reopening, scholars have been found who say that fears about the coronavirus are overrated, statements the powers that be may like but that make increases in infections and deaths more likely (dailystorm.ru/obschestvo/vchera-idu-v-magazin-i-chelovek-idet-v-protivogaze-byvshiy-glavnyy-sanvrach-moskvy-o-sumasshestvii-vokrug-covid-19).