Pandemic Transforming Russians and Reducing Their Readiness to Follow Orders, Philosopher Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 11 – By forcing them out of their customary lives and giving them time to reflect about what really matters, Ibragim Melikov, a professor of social philosophy at the Russian State Social University, says, the coronavirus pandemic is radically changing Russians and reducing their readiness to follow orders (svpressa.ru/society/article/270526/).

            Many are rediscovering their families and neighbors and displaying a remarkable unwillingness to rush back to work when things have opened up. Whether this new focus on the most important things will lead to protest against the regime is uncertain, but it will certainly reduce their willingness to go along unless explanations are offered or force used, he suggests.

            Other commentators are going further. Yury Pronko, for example, says that rising levels of poverty and income differentiation in Russia, both exacerbated by the pandemic, threaten to “blow up the country from the inside,” something that the Kremlin should take notice of but hasn’t so far (krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/78006).

            The toll from the coronavirus pandemic continues to mount. Today, officials said they had recorded 6611 new cases of infection, bringing the cumulative total to 720,547 and 188 more deaths, bringing that total to 11,205. In Moscow conditions were improving but in many other places they were going up (t.me/COVID2019_official/1014).  

            Because of the Moscow-centric thinking of many Russians and many Westerners as well, the improve in the capital is being read as a sign that the pandemic in Russia is over. Trade centers there have recovered 70 percent of their customers and 20 clinics have been converted back to normal use (regnum.ru/news/3007660.html and regnum.ru/news/3007732.html).

            But both the official numbers and a survey conducted by the Regnum news agency shows that today at least, there are more reports of deterioration in the epidemiological situation than of improvements and that at least some regions and institutions have been forced to reimpose restrictions ( at regnum.ru/news/society/3003265.html.)

            That is likely to be the pattern for some time, Moscow specialists say, noting that this is not an indication that a second wave has hit Russia but rather that infections in one place are now moving to another where there is less herd immunity and sparking outbreaks (svpressa.ru/society/article/270528/).

            In economic news, Data  Insight reported that some 10 million more Russians are using online stores than before the pandemic (rbc.ru/society/12/07/2020/5e2fe9459a79479d102bada6), and the official Food Index says that Russians are now spending the same share of their income on food as they did before the self-isolation regime (agoniya.eu/archives/6768).

            Meanwhile, in other pandemic-related news from Russia today,

·         The Public Opinion Foundation reports that only 44 percent of Russians plan to be immunized against the coronavirus if a vaccine becomes available (regnum.ru/news/society/3003265.html).

·         The head of St. Petersburg’s Military-Medical Academy says that his institution has prepared training materials and organized special courses for those treating coronavirus victims (mk.ru/politics/2020/07/11/nachalnik-voennomedicinskoy-akademii-rasskazal-o-borbe-vrachey-s-koronavirusom.html).

·         And the Russian media devoted enormous attention to the fact that US President Donald Trump allowed himself to be photographed wearing a mask while he was visiting Walter Reed Hospital (rbc.ru/society/12/07/2020/5f0a5aa09a7947407c77c7e8).