September 24, 2023

Masking Required Here


Masking Required Here
Russian White House. Szilas, Wikimedia Commons.

Despite Russia's growing political isolation, the COVID-19 variant EG.5, informally known as "Eris," has arrived. The House of The Government of the Russian Federation, the workplace of the Russian Prime Minister, announced that, starting September 18, masking on their premises is mandatory to avoid the spread of COVID-19 and the flu, among other diseases.

According to RBK, employees at the "Bely Dom" (White House) were asked to wear masks in the office and avoid business trips both inside Russia and abroad. The institution also reduced its number of visitors.

Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the government is monitoring the spread of the disease in Russia. However, no measures have been announced for the general population.

The government's current attitude towards the virus drastically differs from its response during the height of the pandemic, which peaked in 2020 and 2021. At that time, officials downplayed the severity of the virus. Media and the government fomented skepticism around vaccines even though Russia was the first country to roll them out. Four hundred thousand lives in Russia were lost to the virus, according to official estimates, the fourth-highest death count of any nation. 

On May 5, 2023, the World Health Organization declared the end of the coronavirus pandemic. In Russia, however, in the week of September 10, some 7,688 people tested positive for COVID-19.

You Might Also Like

Trading COVID for a Car
  • December 22, 2021

Trading COVID for a Car

Thankful for the care they received while ill, one citizen gladly gives away their wheels for the greater good. 
Party Like It's Belarus
  • January 06, 2021

Party Like It's Belarus

The president of Russia's neighbor Belarus ended 2020 the same way he started it: in denial over the coronavirus pandemic.
Ever-Resilient Lukashenko
  • August 03, 2020

Ever-Resilient Lukashenko

The President of Russia's neighboring Belarus says he had coronavirus, but even that didn't keep him down.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955