Russia's Fight Against Covid-19

Abstract

This chapter considers the preliminary results drawn and lessons learned of how the Russian federal government and regions counteracted the Covid-19 pandemic. We point out the specific nature of Russia’s fight against Covid-19 that set it apart from a few other countries, as well as delineate both adverse and favourable factors and conditions. Russia is an asymmetric federation with an excessively centralised and low-quality state administration system. Such conditions led to apprehensions that the Covid-19 pandemic would spread rapidly and uncontrollably in Russia, but, fortunately, these fears proved unjustified. It is shown that the Russian Federation during the first wave of Covid-19 was able to manage effectively the coronavirus pandemic. As 2020 showed us, the current high centralisation of executive power in Russia’s federal system is likely to have reached its limit and can hardly intensify any further. The joint fight against the Covid-19 pandemic triggered decentralisation processes in relations between the Russian federal centre and the regions. Moreover, we may consolidate this fairly successful experience and expand it not only to other crises but also to the development of federalism in Russia. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Nico Steytler.