3 20 things to watch:
RUSSIA & UKRAINE
1
Russia’s COVID-19 Crisis Russia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic started slowly. Though its borders with China were closed in February, the Kremlin only began to enact nationwide measures, such as one week of paid federal holidays, at the end of March to encourage social distancing. Individual regions and cities, including Moscow, that were hit hardest by the pandemic imposed their own sets of strict self-isolation measures on residents. The Kremlin has been conservative in enacting a large-scale stimulus package to support citizens in light of an impending financial crisis, despite its large rainy day fund. The pandemic is also challenging Russia’s notoriously centralized system, as the Kremlin is informally transferring decision-making authority to weak regional governors. While cases in Russia continue to increase, it is clear that the pandemic will force the Kremlin to revisit its domestic policies related to social welfare and regional governance, as problems related to transparency and its weak healthcare infrastructure are revealed.
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Matthew Rojansky, Director, Kennan Institute
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William Pomeranz, Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
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Mykhailo Minakov, Senior Advisor, Editor-in-Chief, Focus Ukraine blog, Kennan Institute 25
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