[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Foreign media reports have emerged that the Russian government under Vladimir Putin is manipulating COVID-19 death statistics.
On the 17th (local time), The Washington Post (WP) reported that Russian authorities are manipulating COVID-19 related statistics and that the actual COVID-19 situation in Russia is more severe.
According to the official statistics released by the Russian government, the number of COVID-19 deaths by mid-October was 221,313, but the excess death toll presented by demographer Aleksei Raksha reached 750,000. This estimate used data from the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, and analysts explained that this figure is considered the most reliable indicator.
Private analysts like Raksha stated that the Russian government, similar to China and Turkey, manipulates statistics mainly for political reasons, failing to properly inform about the risks of the disease, and that this practice hinders accurate estimation of the true impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Russian health authorities and the pandemic response office did not respond to comments regarding claims that the statistical figures are lower than reality. In Russia, even if a patient dies from COVID-19, if the doctor determines the cause of death as heart failure or other reasons, the death is excluded from the COVID-19 death statistics.
Aleksei Kupriyanov, a biologist who organized the COVID-19 expert community Watching Covid on social media last year, also said, "Russian data cannot be trusted at all," and was dismissed from his university position in September last year.
As President Putin strengthened political control in Russia, the COVID-19 response was mainly delegated to local governments, and local officials, to maintain their positions, concealed problems and excluded expert analyses, revealing systemic vulnerabilities, WP reported.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the average life expectancy in Russia was 73 years, shorter than 84 years in countries like Australia, Italy, and Spain. The proportion of healthcare expenditure relative to GDP was also 5.6%, lower than 16.8% in the United States and over 10% in Japan and Europe.
Russian authorities claim to be handling the COVID-19 response better than Western countries, but the number of vaccinated people is 43 million, only 30% of the total population of 144.4 million. This vaccination rate is one of the lowest in the world, significantly lagging behind the United States at 56%, the United Kingdom at 65%, and Canada at 72%.
As of the 16th, the daily COVID-19 death toll reached 1,200 for the first time exceeding 1,000, and confirmed cases hit a record high of 33,000.
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