Will Russia soon be in a state of asphyxiation? While several European countries have seen their curves slow down, the Russian giant is collapsing under the new infections of Covid-19. Moscow recorded a new jump of more than 10,000 cases on Wednesday, the fastest progression of the pandemic in Europe for the fourth consecutive day. The virus has reached the top of the state, contaminating both the head of government Mikhail Michoustine and the Minister of Culture, Olga Lyubimova.
To date, the Russian Ministry of Health has recorded on its website, 165,929 official cases and 1,537 deaths. Figures already worrying but which deserve to be taken with "great tweezers," said Anna Colin Lebedev, teacher, specialist in post-Soviet societies at the University of Nanterre. First because the country has greatly extended its test campaigns in recent weeks. "It's a simple equation: the more tests you do, the more cases you will find," agrees Isabelle Facon, deputy director of the Foundation for Strategic Research. And to add: "Russia follows, no more, no less the scenario of European countries".
The fact remains that despite this epidemic surge, the Russian mortality rate is relatively low compared to Italy, Spain and even France. “The death toll is underestimated. Many of the deceased who contracted the virus suffered from other pathologies and were not listed in the official count, ”says Anna Colin Lebedev.
A fragile health system, inherited from the USSR
Contrary to France, the power delegated to the local administrations the census of the number of contaminations and deaths. A method that does not guarantee any transparency. "Some regions will have an interest in underreporting their dead, to give a model image while others will overestimate their figures to get more state aid," analyzes the researcher.
In the first weeks, the virus first nestled in the “economic heart” of the country, in Moscow before spreading in the Russian countryside. “The elite who traveled through Russia have contaminated the province. So much so that today the virus is globally circulating everywhere, ”notes the academic. The capital, however, remains the epicenter of the epidemic with 85,973 cases recorded to date.
Above all, the health crisis has highlighted the fragility of a health system inherited from the USSR and the regional disparities that result from it. According to OECD data, however, Russia has 8.1 hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants, more than France (6 beds per 1,000). A global figure that cannot "account for the great inequalities in access to care according to the regions", notes Sophie Cœuré, historian, specialist in Russia.
Change of tone of the Kremlin
“The health system is still suffering from the economic difficulties inherited since the early 1990s. When he came to power in 1999, Putin gave priority to military spending and privatized the health sector. The workforce was reduced and many structures closed. Today, people with the means can get treatment, but the rest have to go to hospitals that are often poorly equipped and understaffed, ”adds the historian.
As the health crisis deepens, the Kremlin has changed its tone in recent weeks. Inspired by the Chinese model, the country launched, in late April, the rapid construction of a hospital that can accommodate up to 800 beds, 70 km southwest of the capital. For its part, the Moscow public health department promised on Monday that medical students mobilized against the Covid-19 in hospitals would be paid up to 175,000 rubles per month (2,100 €), while their services do not are usually unpaid.
Hospitals, these infectious centers
It is also a way to calm the anger of caregivers who are out of breath. “Hospitals are facing a shortage of gowns, masks etc. Caregivers are sometimes even asked to save their gloves by wearing them for several days, ”says Anna Colin Lebedev. If the country has nearly 43,000 respirators in all of its public hospitals, their very uneven distribution over the territory worries scientists. Some small towns, such as Kaluga located in the center of the country have no more than "5 machines per 100,000 people," says the Russian-language news site Meduza. This lack of resources is obviously not without consequence: "some hospitals have become infectious centers", deplores the researcher.
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Wary of official statistics, Russian and Belarusian doctors themselves keep a list of all their deceased colleagues. At least 42 Russian specialists (22 in Moscow, 12 in the region bordering the capital and 8 in Saint Petersburg) have already succumbed to the virus, reports The Moscow Times, English-language daily newspaper published in Russia.
A progressive deconfinement
Despite these worrying data, Moscow is preparing to gradually lift, from May 12, the containment measures applied since mid-March in the country. A decision motivated by “fear of seeing the economic situation worsen”, notes researcher Isabelle Facon. “Many citizens have no social protection and receive no state aid. Finally, two thirds of Russians have no savings. The Kremlin then wants to see its economy start again as soon as possible. ”
Added to this is a cultural dimension, says the expert. “The Russians do not have the same capacity for resilience as we do. If we look in their recent history as distant, these people have experienced an unprecedented series of political and economic shocks. It is obvious that power relies on this capacity to absorb crises to overcome the one we are going through at the moment. ”
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