Russia had over 23 million COVID-19 cases as of October 22, 2023. Over the past week, that figure increased by nearly 20 thousand. Russia had the 10th-highest number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases worldwide. Debate about COVID-19 deaths in Russia The number of deaths from the disease was lower than in other countries most affected by the pandemic. Several foreign media sources, including New York Times and Financial Times, published articles suggesting that the official statistics on the COVID-19 death toll in Russia could be lowered. A narrow definition of a death from COVID-19 and a general increase in mortality in Moscow were pointed out while suggesting why actual death figures could be higher than reported. Russian explanation of lower COVID-19 deaths Experts and lawmakers from Russia provided several answers to the accusations. Among them were the fact that Russians timely reported symptoms to doctors, a high number of tests conducted, as well as a higher herd immunity of the population compared to other countries. In a letter to the New York Times, Moscow’s health department head argued that even if all the additional death cases in the Russian capital in April 2020 were categorized as caused by the COVID-19, the city’s mortality rate from the disease would still be lower than in cities like New York or London.For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

COVID-19 in Russia was centered in the city of Moscow, which accounted for the highest number of cases, measuring at around 3.5 million as of June 4, 2023. It was followed by Saint Petersburg with more than 1.9 million cases. In total, over 22.9 million COVID-19 cases were recorded in Russia as of June 4, 2023.

COVID-19 in Moscow The city of Moscow was Russia’s region with the largest number of conducted COVID-19 tests. Moscow's self-isolation index during the lockdown indicated that most residents stayed home. With entertainment venues, restaurants and bars, and non-food shops closed, the subway traffic in the capital decreased by 85 percent compared to the previous year. Furthermore, car sharing services were suspended in the city due to risks of the COVID-19 contagion. Until the end of 2021, pensioners in Moscow could receive 10 thousand Russian rubles for getting vaccinated.

Self-isolation regime Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Russia announced a non-working period until May 11, 2020. Its regions, or federal subjects, imposed additional quarantine measures to restrict movement of residents and transport during the shutdown. In most regions, the population could go outside only to the nearest grocery store, to walk a dog, or to see a doctor in emergency cases. Moscow authorities introduced digital passes, requiring Russians to register online before leaving home. Another lockdown was held from the end of October to the beginning of November. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

New COVID-19 cases in Russia stood at over 19.9 thousand during the week ending October 22, 2023, up nearly 3.1 thousand from the previous week. The total number of confirmed cases of the disease in the country exceeded 23 million, with the capital Moscow accounting for the largest number of infected individuals. COVID-19 spread in Russia The mass spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Russia is considered to have started in March 2020, given that only two cases were recorded at the end of January and none in February. By mid-April, the disease affected all federal subjects, or regions of the country. To contain the COVID-19 outbreak, a lockdown was introduced in the country until mid-May 2020, and residents aged above 65 years were obliged to stay home for several months longer as a preventive measure. Another non-working period was announced at the end of October and the beginning of November 2021. What do Russians think about COVID-19? In February 2020, only 18 percent of the Russian population believed there was a high probability of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. As more disease cases were reported, the society took it more seriously. In April 2020, over 90 percent of Russians supported measures taken by the national government to prevent the wider spread of the disease.For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Russia recorded 22900755 Coronavirus Cases since the epidemic began, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, Russia reported 398736 Coronavirus Deaths. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Russia Coronavirus Cases.

Over 340 million tests for coronavirus (COVID-19) were conducted in Russia as of the end of July 2023. Russia had fifth-largest number of COVID-19 tests performed worldwide and the third largest in Europe. Russia’s COVID-19 testing rate per one million population was lower than in several other European countries and the United States.

COVID-19 test systems in Russia The State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector, located in Novosibirsk, developed test systems able to identify the RNA of the SARS-CoV-2 based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in end-January 2020. Prior to March 20, 2020, test samples from all over the country had to be sent to Vector for verification. After that date, a positive test confirmed in the regional laboratories became sufficient to diagnose COVID-19. State-funded and private laboratories across the country could apply to for a permission to become COVID-19 testing centers. As of February 2, 2023, a total of 1,263 such labs operated in Russia.

Scale of COVID-19 testing in Russia Most COVID-19 tests in Russia were conducted in Moscow, which also had the largest count of infected population since the outbreak of the disease. The testing capacity per 100 thousand population was the highest in the Sverdlovsk Oblast. Starting from July 16, 2020, Moscow introduced a free of charge mass COVID-19 testing in more than 200 centers. Furthermore, citizens of the Russian capital could get a free public antibody test. In mid-July, Russia imposed mandatory COVID-19 testing on arrival for nationals and foreign citizens.

The average age of Russian female coronavirus (COVID-19) patients was roughly 48 years as of April 20, 2020. Among men infected with the disease, the mean age was approximately three years lower. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

The database contains the survey on the changes of gender time allocation during two waves of the coronavirus lockdown (self-isolative restrictions) in Russia. Self-isolation included shift to remote work and study, the closure of childcare facilities, restrictions of mobility, etc.

Sample information

The survey was conducted on Yandex.Survey platform. The first wave was conducted on 22-23 th of May, 2020, after 2 months of the beginning of first lockdown. The second wave took place on 17-19th of November, 2020 after 1 month of the second lockdown’start.

Data was collected via online service Yandex.Survey. The platform offers a service for conducting an online survey among 50 million users of the Yandex advertising network with the ability to make a random sample, including a sample by demographic, geographic and some socio-economic characteristics.

The respondents were women of predominantly working/reproductive age (15-55) from Russia. 1411 women took part in the first wave and 1408 in the second. After cleaning data and removing outliers 2795 respondents left.

The coincidence of the distributions with the general population in terms of the main parameters (age, size of the settlement, employment, household composition) is satisfactory. The observed (insignificant) deviations are as follows: the proportion of women aged 30-43, living in cities with a population over one million has increased; decreased - at the age of 50-54 years, living in settlements with a population of less than 100 thousand people working in agriculture.

The female respondents were asked if they spend more or less time household chores and care, including: cleaning, cooking, laundry, shopping, management, child care, other care or nothing. If a woman marked, that she is living with a partner during the lockdown, she was also asked if her partner spends more or less time on each chore.

The survey also includes questions concerning the occupation type (work, work and study, study, child care leave, doesn’t work), if a woman works (or works and studies), how the lockdown effected on her job: shift to remote work, fired, paid leave, unpaid leave, no income on restrictions, continues in-person work, and if a woman lives with a partner the same question was asked considering his work on the lockdown. Further, occupational features were divided into three: income (or husband’s income) means that a woman (or her partner) has her income on the lockdown which includes remote work, in person work, paid leave; gotowork means a woman (in her partner’s case – husb_gotowork) continues in person work; and distant if a woman is working online (husb_distant for her partner). Further, we asked whether a woman has an experience of remote work: no, and it is impossible, no, but it is possible, yes. We also asked about the size and type of her employer (small, medium, large firm or state firm).

The next set of questions considers who a woman is living with on self isolation: alone, children, partner, parents, parents-in-law, others. At last, we asked respondents age, number of children and the age of the youngest child (if the number of children >0).

The database’ structure

Survey's wave variables

Social and demographic variables

age of female respondent

size of the city

number of children

the age of the youngest child

age at last birth

woman lives with her husband

woman lives with children

woman lives with children over 18 years old

woman lives with her parents

woman lives with her husband's parents

woman lives alone

woman lives with someone else

type of activity

how the lockdown effected female occupation

field of employment

type of enterprise where woman works (or does not)

there is wife's income in household

how the lockdown effected her husband's occupation

there is husband's income in household

woman's work experience at a remote location

woman has remote work in the period of lockdown

her husband has remote work in the period of lockdown

her husband has out of home work in the period of lockdown

woman has out of home work in the period of lockdown

her husband is fired or doesn't have income temporarily because of the lockdown

her husband was fired because of the lockdown

Time use variables: the changes in lockdown

WOMAN MORE

childcare

care

cleaning

cooking

laundry

shopping

management

nothing

WOMAN LESS

childcare

care

cleaning

cooking

laundry

shopping

management

nothing

HER HUSBAND MORE

childcare

care

cleaning

cooking

laundry

shopping

management

nothing

HER HUSBAND LESS

childcare

care

cleaning

cooking

laundry

shopping

management

nothing

TOGETHER MORE

childcare

care

cleaning

cooking

laundry

shopping

management

nothing

TOGETHER LESS

childcare

care

cleaning

cooking

laundry

shopping

management

nothing

INSTEAD MORE

childcare

care

cleaning

cooking

laundry

shopping

management

nothing

INSTEAD LESS

childcare

care

cleaning

cooking

laundry

shopping

management

nothing

There are English and Russian versions of variables’ description.

During exploratory data analysis we introduced features instead or together. These new features are restricted to answers of women who live with partners. Whether a woman marks that she spends less(more) time on the chore and her husband spends more(less) time on that exact type of chore, that means he does it instead of his wife. Whether both a woman and her partner spend more (less) time one the chore, it means they do it together.

The variable “type of enterprise” was built on the criteria of credibility and stability during the corona-crisis from a small to a state firm (small, medium, large, state firm). Small and medium enterprises were hit the most by the pandemic (http://doklad.ombudsmanbiz.ru/2020/7.pdf), whether large and especially state firms had more resources to maintain employment and payments.

In January 2023, less than 30 percent of Russians were afraid of contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19), down from 48 percent in October 2021. To compare, in October 2020, the public fear of the disease was measured at 64 percent, which was the highest figure over the observed period. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

The share of Russians using the internet for ordering services related to travel booking exceeded 15 percent in 2023. The use of internet for travel booking increased from the previous year. The figure was the highest in 2019, before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Russia counted nearly 23 million cases of COVID-19 as of July 30, 2023. That was the 10th highest number of disease cases worldwide. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

The Sverdlovsk Oblast had the highest number of tests for the coronavirus (COVID-19) per 100 thousand population among Russian federal subjects, measuring at approximately 2.09 million as of February 15, 2023. Overall, the highest amount of COVID-19 tests in Russia as of that date was recorded in the city of Moscow.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

The experts at the Social Policy Institute at Higher School of Economics in Russia have estimated expected losses of social benefits funds as a consequence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) expansion across the country. The value of revenue loss would grow exponentially at a longer duration of the crisis and at more elevated unemployment rates. Thus, if the crisis lasted six months and caused a loss of only five percent of workplaces, the estimated losses would be measured at over 390 billion Russian rubles.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

The experts feared that social distancing as the foremost measure to prevent the further expansion of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, would lead to job cuts in Russia in 2020. Thus, the most feasible employment reduction rate of between 10 and 15 percent could leave from five to eight million people without a job countrywide.

Coronavirus impact on the Russian economy 

The coronavirus-induced crisis, which was enhanced by the drop of crude oil prices had a drastic impact on the Russian economy, the whole effect of which is yet to be seen in the coming months and years. The expected GDP loss for 2020 in Russia was estimated at around four percent, considering that the critical phase of the crisis and the negative manifestations would affect only 2020. For scenarios with a longer period of COVID-19 impact, the forecast was less optimistic. Shopping malls were the most affected businesses in the Russian capital during the lockdown.

 Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Russia   

While there were some cases of coronavirus reported in January 2020 in the Russian territory, outbreak of the disease in the country started a bit later, in March 2020. Up to date, there were roughly 4.4 million cases of coronavirus confirmed countrywide, roughly three fourths of which has already recovered, and over 27 thousand died as a result of COVID-19. The city of Moscow has been accounting for the highest number of reported cases in the country since the beginning of the pandemic.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Evolution of coronavirus deaths between 27/01 and 03/02/22. The increase in the number of deaths surpassed the 70,000 deaths but did not show a crazy change in weeks despite the exponential number of infections, which is proof of the effectiveness of vaccination. The rate of growth in deaths increased to + 1.3 %. The fourth wave has disappeared in South America, while the reactivation of the epidemic is firmly confirmed in North America. Epidemia that fades in Europe from the West, except for the eastern Mediterranean facade and Scandinavia. Russia has been showing significant developments in COVID-19 mortality for a long time. Asia of Dragon Countries is a home in the process of slowing down. Australia, long out of infection focus, shows significant evolutions week after week, as in New Zealand. In Africa, this contrasts with Western Europe, with significant relative increases in the West.

With the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), sales of medical supplies to prevent the viral contraction skyrocketed in Russia . The highest sales volume growth between February 17 to March 8, 2020 was recorded for medical face masks at 380 percent relative to the equivalent period of the previous year. The average spending on the named item across the country amounted to 87 Russian rubles over the period under consideration.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

The highest number of cases per 100 thousand inhabitants among Russian regions was observed in the Altai Republic, measuring at approximately 5.1 thousand as of November 30, 2020. The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug had the second highest incidence rate, with 4.8 thousand infected per 100 thousand population.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic aggravated with a drastic drop in crude oil prices will cost a negative growth domestic product (GDP) growth in 2020 in Russia, according to every forecast scenario. If the effects of the crisis persist throughout the whole 2021 year (a negative scenario), the GDP is expected to grow at a 1-1.5 percent rate in 2021.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

On Sunday, September 12, 2021, the highest self-isolation index among Russian cities with over one million inhabitants was measured in Omsk at 2.8 points, indicating that there was a high number of people on the streets. In the capital Moscow, where most COVID-19 cases in Russia were recorded, the index reached two points. The non-working period in Russia ended on May 12, 2020.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

As of February 15, 2023, around 50.6 million tests for COVID-19 were conducted in the city of Moscow, which was Russia's federal subject with the highest number of cases of COVID-19. The second highest number of tests was recorded in Saint Petersburg at approximately 21 million. The total number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Russia exceeded 327 million as of January 31, 2023.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Approximately 3.6 million COVID-19 cases were recorded in Moscow as of October 22, 2023. The Russian capital was most severely hit by the disease compared to other regions. For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.