Coronavirus, Public Health, Russia Watch Now: From Russia With Gloves - Diagnosing Russia's Response to COVID-19

As COVID-19 has spread to every corner of the world, its effects on Russia have been difficult to discern. How has the country responded to the crisis? What data can we believe? How will COVID-19 affect the government’s strained relations with the West and how may it affect Putin’s grip on power?

The Russian government itself has claimed that it has the COVID-19 crisis under control, and has taken draconian measures to stifle criticism of its response. Domestically, Russian cities have gone into lockdown and the country is reportedly planning to use facial recognition software and a dedicated app to track the spread of the virus. Internationally, Russia, along with China and Iran, has taken advantage of the chaos of the crisis in its influence operations. What more has COVID-19 revealed about the Russian government and its relations with the world?

In this edition of The World Today, Perry World House Wolk Distinguished Visiting Fellow Ambassador Alexander (“Sandy”) Vershbow, The New Times editor and talk-show host of “Absolute Albats” at Echo Moskvy broadcasting Yevgenia Albats, and Perry World House Visiting Fellow and Philadelphia Inquirer Worldview columnist Trudy Rubin discussed these and other questions in conversation with Perry World House Interim Director Michael Horowitz.