Coronavirus Infections and Deaths Continue to Rise in Ingushetia but More Slowly than in Neighboring Federal Subjects

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 8 – In the last day, the number of coronavirus infections and deaths continued to rise in Ingushetia, but because the increases are slower than in neighboring federal subjects, the republic has lost its position as the main hotspot in the North Caucasus to North Ossetia (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/349362/ and kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/349317/).

            But the republic’s pandemic death toll, which now stands at 28, was overshadowed by two other news items. On the one hand, Rosstat reported that inflation in Ingushetia is the highest in Russia, with price increases going up by approximately four times the rate in Moscow (gazetaingush.ru/news/rost-potrebitelskih-cen-v-aprele-osobo-zatronul-ingushetiyu-rosstat).

            And on the other, the federal statistical agency said that 30.5 percent of Ingush residents have poverty-level incomes, ranking the republic behind only Tyva where 34.7 percent do and in a far worse state than in the megalopolies and oil and gas producing centers where the rates are below 7.3 percent (kp.ru/online/news/3864259/).

            This combination means that the standard of living of people in Ingushetia is falling far faster than almost anywhere else.

            Meanwhile, there were two other developments in the republic: Moscow officials say they are now going to investigate how widespread female genital mutilation may be in Ingushetia and whether government hospitals in Magas are in fact performing such illegal operations (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/349290/).

            And a survey of people in the republic, after Magas cancelled the Victory Day parade this year, found widespread disappointment but equally widespread understanding that this action was required to prevent the spread of the coronavirus further (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/349360/).