Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Russia - statistics & facts
The coronavirus (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), reached Russia in end-January 2020, while its mass outbreak began in March. Originally, Moscow was the epicenter of the pandemic, though the share of other regions in total cases increased gradually. Russia held a lockdown in the spring of 2020. When COVID-19 cases and deaths significantly increased in the fall of 2021, additional measures were imposed, such as QR codes proving the vaccination or recovered status and mandatory vaccination for employees in various sectors and the elderly population in some regions. The restrictions were largely eased in March 2022 and fully removed in July 2022. Russia was among the 10 countries with the highest number of cases worldwide. As of February 2023, Omicron was the dominant variant of COVID-19 in the country.
