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2020 IN REVIEW

Russia’s Response to the Coronavirus: The 2020 Timeline

How the pandemic unfolded in Russia in 2020, from border closures to mass vaccination rollout.
no takeoff

Russia to Suspend Flights With UK Amid Mutated Virus Fears

The one-week suspension comes after Britain raised alarms over the spread of a more infectious strain of the coronavirus.
political unrest

Kremlin Voices 'Serious Concern' Over C.Africa Crisis

Reports earlier Monday said that Russia had dispatched "hundreds" of troops to the impoverished country. 
russia's response

LIVE | Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Dec. 21

Record-breaking new cases. Deaths surpass 50,000. Mass vaccination.
more news

A Letter to Our Readers

MT Team

Coronavirus Crisis

Coronavirus: With Your Help We Can Continue to Bring You the News You Need

Latest Video

same skies

Smog-Choked Russian City Appeals to Biden for Aid

Residents of Chelyabinsk called on the U.S. president-elect for help in avoiding “ecological genocide.”

Latest Podcast

Dec. 18, 2020
2020 Words of the Year
This is the Year That Was in words and phrases.

MT Feature

‘NOT A BELIEVER’

Vaccine Fears Slow Moscow’s Sputnik V Rollout

Initial numbers indicate that as few as 14 people per clinic per day are receiving the vaccine.

Editor's Pick

LACK OF TRUST

As Russia Begins Mass Coronavirus Vaccination, Its Medics Aren't On Board

Skepticism among the medical community will make a nationwide Sputnik V push difficult.
Combatting the contagion

Russia Fights Coronavirus
Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Dec. 21
Russia to Suspend Flights With UK Amid Mutated Virus Fears
Russia Plays Down Britain’s Infectious Coronavirus Strain
Russia's Coronavirus Testing Slows Amid Surge in Cases – Reuters

Coronavirus Cases in Russia

2,877,727 Total Confirmed Cases
531,014 Total Active Cases
29,350 Today's Cases
2,295,362 Total Recovered
2,300 Total Critical
493 Today's Deaths
51,351 Total Deaths
19,715 Cases per Million
352 Deaths per Million
Data Sources: Worldometer, Johns Hopkins
API: NovelCOVID

highlights

POLITICAL PROFILE

A Feminist Pro-Kremlin Lawmaker Who Supports LGBT Rights

Oksana Pushkina tells The Moscow Times her views aren’t oppositional — they’re just common sense.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Warning! An Army of Russian Trolls Has Invaded TikTok

The Kremlin is using its tested methods on the viral social media platform, but TikTok users have developed “anti-bodies” to bots and trolls.
meet the press

Putin Talks Coronavirus, Navalny Poisoning at Annual Marathon Press Conference

“Compared to [the West], we are warm and cuddly,” Putin said of Russia's worsening relations with the West.
‘NOT A BELIEVER’

Vaccine Fears Slow Moscow’s Sputnik V Rollout

Initial numbers indicate that as few as 14 people per clinic per day are receiving the vaccine.
opinion Andrei Soldatov

Russia’s Secret Organizations Are Not Secret Anymore. It Seems They Don’t Care

What has become clear is that to expect the Kremlin or its secret services to be embarrassed when they are unmasked is to miscalculate greatly.
MT+

'The Pandemic Has Affected All Companies'

DAF Trucks Rus CEO Arie Hendrikx.
Climate Crisis

Russia's Climate Emergency
New Alliance Hopes to Raise Awareness of Arctic Environmental Crisis
Study Links Siberian Wildfires to Arctic Warming
Blame Climate Change for Historically Warm Fall in Russia’s Biggest Cities, Experts Say
Moscow Sees Warmest Fall on Record

opinion

opinion Michael Kofman

A Look at the Military Lessons of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

opinion Michele A. Berdy

2020 Words of the Year

opinion Ilya Klishin

Warning! An Army of Russian Trolls Has Invaded TikTok

opinion Artyom Shraibman

Why Belarusians Are Turning Against Russia

opinion Andrei Soldatov

Russia’s Secret Organizations Are Not Secret Anymore. It Seems They Don’t Care

opinion Patrick Sewell

Russia’s COVID-19 Reality Gap

more opinion

Meanwhile in Russia

preserved legend

Taxidermied ‘Hitler’s Alligator’ Goes on Display in Moscow

romantic rejection

Horse Bites Off St. Petersburg Man’s Nose After Attempted Kiss – Reports

fairest of them all

Siberian Cows Compete in Bovine Beauty Pageant

low risk

Russians Order 'Santas With Antibodies' for New Year Celebrations

More meanwhile in russia

Business

End of an Era

Finland’s Nordea Bank Pulls Out of Russia

Nordea Bank said it "will concentrate its activities in the Scandinavian region."
refuted report

En+ Denies Sanctioned Russian Tycoon in Violation of Divestment Deal

Bloomberg had earlier reported that European officials said Deripaska “retained significant day-to-day influence” over Rusal and En+ despite divesting...
Political Theater

Putin Urges Food Price Cap As Russian Economy Falters

The Kremlin has shunned a second lockdown. But the pandemic is still causing financial headaches.
OUTFLOW

Russia Lost 5M Migrants During Pandemic

Russia relies on incoming workers from Central Asia to stem a demographic crisis. Migrant numbers are down by almost 50% this year.
read more

arts and life

obituary

Alexander Kurlyandsky, Creator of 'Nu, Pogodi!', Dead at 82

Kurlyandsky's creations include the parrot Kesha and The Great Gosha.
long read

'Of Politics and Pandemics: Songs of a Russian Immigrant'

A poetic reflection that is comical, lyrical, satirical and heart-breaking.
pass the popcorn

U.S. Film Industry Losses are Russia’s Gains

Russian viewers and filmmakers are cashing in on Hollywood's troubles.
not moscow

Russian Children's Magazines Are Surviving and Thriving

Children's periodicals still have a fan base, especially far from Russia's big cities.
Frozen

In Photos: Russians Embrace a True Siberian Winter

Life goes on, even at minus 50 C.
More Arts and Life

In-Depth

opinion Michael Kofman

A Look at the Military Lessons of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

It would be a mistake for great and middle powers to ignore the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
LONG READ

Is the WHO Too Soft on Russia?

Critics fear Russia is using the WHO’s structural weaknesses to validate its coronavirus approach.
opinion Simon Saradzhyan

Putin’s Nagorno-Karabakh Calculus Can Undermine Russian Clout in FSU

Russia’s decision not to employ leverage to stop the conflict in its early stages made a lasting impression on its allies.
opinion Vladimir Frolov

No Longer 'Ours': With a Biden White House, the Kremlin Is Facing a Tough New Reality

The problem for Moscow is not so much the deterioration of relations under Biden: it is the readiness of the White House to minimize these relations.
more in-depth