Putin Fails to Call for Minute of Silence for Covid Victims

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 21 – Despite reported discussions in the Kremlin about having Vladimir Putin ask for a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the coronavirus, the Russian leader did not do so but instead used his remarks to the Federal Assembly to praise Russian science and call on Russians to get vaccinated (vedomosti.ru/society/articles/2021/04/21/867056-poslanie-prezidenta, regnum.ru/news/3249050.html and regnum.ru/news/3249063.html).

            Meanwhile, in a speech to the Academy of Sciences Academician Gennady Onishchenko who is also a United Russia Duma deputy, said he considered the measures the Putin regime has taken against the pandemic to be “absolutely insufficient” and criticized various government institutions for their shortcomings in that regard (iarex.ru/articles/80649.html).

            Today, the Russian government reported registering 8271 new cases of infection and 399 new deaths from the coronavirus over the last 24 hours as the pandemic ebbed and flowed in various parts of the country (t.me/COVID2019_official/2811 and   regnum.ru/news/society/3241939.html).

            The Russian government is discussing requiring those entering Russia to be tested not once but twice to ensure that they don’t bring the coronavirus in any of its strains into the country (publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001202104200067).

            According to its developers, “approximately 10 to 11 million” Russian residents have received at least the first dose of the vaccine (regnum.ru/news/3248586.html). Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin called on businesses to promote the vaccine among their employees (regnum.ru/news/3248810.html). And 7.5 times as many people who have been vaccinated as those who have note favor the introduction of covid passports (regnum.ru/news/3248875.html).

            Significantly, the Alpari Research Center and the Health Ministry disagreed on how Russia will reach herd immunity. The first said “no less than 50 percent” of Russians will be immune by having had the disease and recovered, while the second said 60 percent of Russians will be vaccinated by August (regnum.ru/news/3249277.html and regnum.ru/news/3249333.html).