Distrust and conspiracies are causing the low uptake of vaccines in Russia

Lives will be lost as a result of Russia’s slow coronavirus jab programme, writes Oliver Carroll

Decades of propaganda – and a policy of fostering cynicism in everything – has left its calling card (Getty/iStock)

Switch on a TV set in Russia and you won’t have to wait long to hear about the country’s success in tackling Covid-19.

There is no shortage of good news stories. With three domestic vaccines now approved, Moscow is likely the only city on Earth with an abundance of reliable vaccines. Supplies of Sputnik V, the first of the approved vaccines, are even, belatedly, finding their way to the Russian regions.

After a rocky introduction, Sputnik enjoys a solid and growing reputation internationally. The jab has been approved by regulators in four-dozen countries, including Hungary and Slovakia in the EU. On Tuesday, the Kremlin proudly revealed it was considering visa requests from foreigners peering in on the land of vaccine plenty.

Yet for all the international plaudits, Russians back home are yet to be convinced.

The figures speak for themselves. As of 22 March, only 10 million jabs had been administered across Russia, a country of 144 million people. That is barely a fifth of the total in the UK, which began vaccinating around the same time.

In a February survey, only 38 per cent said they intended to get vaccinated. That figure goes down to 25 per cent of 18- 24-year-olds.

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There are a number of reasons for the lack of enthusiasm. Unfounded rumours about the effectiveness of the vaccine play a role; here Russia is no different to other parts of the globe.

Popular forums repeat the most common of them: the vaccine causes sterility; the vials are mostly placebo, replaced by water; Covid was invented by drug companies to sell medicine.

But the lack of vaccine uptake also appears to reflect low levels of trust between the state and the people.

For years, Russians have been told to keep out of politics and concentrate on their private lives. Many, unsurprisingly, choose to do that. But the pact also has a flip side in that reliable communication is difficult. Two decades of warping via propaganda – and a policy of fostering cynicism in everything – have also left a calling card. 

Last week Vladimir Putin had the opportunity to remove some of that distrust by taking the jab himself in front of the cameras. Remarkably, he decided to turn his long-awaited vaccination into something resembling a secret operation. The spectacle, or rather lack of it, raised more questions than it answered.

In brief comments to press the next day, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov urged people to take the head of state on his word.

The problem is that all the evidence suggests a good number will not. And lives will, inevitably, be lost as a result.

Yours,

Oliver Carroll

Moscow correspondent