Chechnya

On 6 May, a strict mask wearing rule was introduced in the Russian Federal Republic of Chechnya. Citizens who appear on the streets and in public places without personal protective equipment will face punishment. This decision was made by the region’s operational headquarters to combat the spread of coronavirus, said Speaker of the Chechen Parliament Magomed Daudov. According to the publication, the residents of Chechnya will be provided with medical masks by volunteers for free.

The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov stated that anyone who publishes footage of officers detaining people who violate coronavirus quarantine on social media should be put to work as janitors as punishment. “Let them work as janitors in hospitals, in the Interior Ministry and other institutions. Let them see what condition the medical staff [are] in. ... Because of these people, the number of infections is increasing,” he said. Kadyrov’s reactions came after a video was posted to YouTube showing a Chechen officer unsuccessfully chasing down an alleged lockdown violator.

The central authorities of the Russian Federation have put forward claims against the article by Elena Milashina published in the “Novaya Gazeta” newspaper on the situation with the coronavirus in Chechnya, stating that the information therein about the closure of hospitals was false. On 12 April, Milashina published an article describing how the Chechen Governor had responded to the pandemic. She explained that quarantined Chechens had stopped reporting coronavirus symptoms for fear of being labeled “terrorists.” In a speech held on 13 April, Kadyrov accused Milashina of writing “nonsense” and blamed the Federal Security Service for not silencing her, according to a transcript of his remarks published by Novaya Gazeta. On 15 April the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications (Roskomnadzor) forced Novaya Gazeta to retract Elena Milashina’s reports following accusations of “inaccurate information” and for causing “a threat to public safety.”

Dagestan

On 4 May, the Open Caucasus media reported that medical personnel in Dagestan claimed that there is a critical lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), and that many of them are falling ill with COVID-19 as a result. 

On April 30, an appeal appeared on the Instagram page tut.dagestan, written on behalf of the residents of the village of Gergebil, one of the administrative centers in the republic. “12 people have already died in our village over the past few days. Just as many are in critical condition. Almost all the villagers are sick. The hospitals are overcrowded, so many of them are still at home. There are no diagnostic tools in hospitals, no drugs, no supplies. Everything the hospitals do have, including oxygen tanks, were bought by the residents themselves, with their own money. All the villagers are pitching in to buy medicine and refill oxygen tanks,” the statement read.

Ingushetia

On 5 May, the campaign to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to residents of the region started. Employees of the regional Youth Committee, representatives of municipalities and youth activists will provide pedestrians, drivers and passengers with protective masks for several days. The main locations of the event are streets and intersections, which were considered busy before the pandemic, shops and pharmacies. Volunteers will also carry out the delivery of PPE to the houses of war veterans, elderly people and people with disabilities. A total of 10 thousand units of protective masks are planned to be distributed.

On 1 May, the Ingush authorities introduced a mask wearing requirement in the republic. According to the decree, it was recommended to the citizens that they use respiratory protective equipment when they are outside their home, including in public places, retail outlets, service provision organizations, workplaces and public transport, including taxis.

A major distrust in the republic’s healthcare system was also reported with frequent attacks on healthcare facilities. A video was circulating around Ingush social media shows a young man bursting into an infectious diseases department, where patients with coronavirus were treated. He filmed the ward and said that there were not enough drugs in the hospital, and that he personally bought medication for treating coronavirus. The head of the Ingush Ministry of Health, Zarema Lyanova, said in a statement that this was a lie, and that there is enough medication available in the republic.

The current tally of infected persons in Russia stands at 155 370, with 1451 reported deaths. Chechnya reported 645 cases with 8 deaths, Dagestan 2267 cases with 15 deaths and Ingushetia 1018 cases with 27 deaths.