Putin Exploits Coronavirus to Justify Centralized Russian Power
Putin Exploits Coronavirus to Justify Centralized Russian Power
President touts Russian model, deriding Western liberal democracies as weak and globalism as fragile
A family near Moscow watched Russian President Vladimir Putin deliver a televised address this week.
Photo: yuri kochetkov/Shutterstock
By
Ann Simmons
Updated March 27, 2020 7:28 am ET
MOSCOW—The
coronavirus pandemic has given Russian President Vladimir Putin a fresh opportunity to drive home for worried Russians a recurring theme of his long reign: Western liberal democracies are weak, globalism is fragile and the Russian model of centralizing power in a strong leader is superior in times of crisis.
Throughout much of the pandemic, the Kremlin leader has sought to project strength and calm, assuring his people that the spread of the
new coronavirus is under control in Russia, even as it has killed 14,000 and sickened at least 247,667 across the whole of Europe, where most countries have locked down their economies.
On Wednesday, Russia followed suit with Mr. Putin recommending that workers in nonessential sectors remain at home next week and introducing a package of measures to help shore up the economy and protect livelihoods. On Thursday, authorities announced the suspension of all international flights starting Friday.
Stepped up restrictions, which have been imposed in stages to avoid public panic, have also led to the postponement of a national vote on proposed amendments to the country’s constitution that would allow Mr. Putin to run again after his fourth presidential term ends in four years, potentially prolonging his two-decade grip on power until 2036.
Coronavirus awareness posters in Golokhvastovo, Russia.
Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg News
However, grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, medical institutions and transport will remain open. And an elaborate military parade on May 9, marking the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, is still on track. It is an important event for a president who has skillfully stirred patriotic feeling among Russians who have seen their living standards decline during recent years of his 20-year reign.
Russia, a country of about 146 million people, has reported 1,036 cases and three deaths so far. Authorities here say Russia’s rapid response, such as closing its 2,600-mile border with China immediately after the outbreak in Wuhan province and quickly imposing restrictions on flights from Europe, has helped delay an explosion of cases. Some Russians have expressed skepticism over the veracity of the tally on social media.
Western countries have been loath to use tactics that some authoritarian states such as China employed to curb the virus spreading—including going door-to-door in apartment buildings to record body temperatures and widespread surveillance to track the contacts of infected people.
But Mr. Putin has lauded Beijing’s tough measures, which have helped drive new Chinese cases to zero.
Authorities in Moscow have used facial recognition cameras to nab those violating official quarantines. And this week Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called for the development of a system to track people who have come into contact with anyone with coronavirus by using geolocation information from mobile phone operators.
Mr. Putin wore a yellow protective suit during a visit to the hospital for coronavirus patients in Kommunarka.
Photo: Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin Pool/Zuma Press
The global emergency has allowed Russian authorities to justify restricting civil liberties, such as banning large protests to challenge declining living standards and 67-year-old Mr. Putin’s attempt to stay in power until his 80s.
On Thursday, Mr. Putin told members of the business community that the restrictive measures he announced Wednesday are “forced and temporary,” but would help the coronavirus situation to improve in less than two to three months, the official Russian news agency TASS reported.
“It’s a good excuse for any kind of these actions,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a political analyst in Moscow. “Now the Kremlin will have an alibi—low incomes and low GDP growth are a consequence of the pandemic and not of our weak economic policy.”
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A severe economic downturn in Russia could put more pressure on Mr. Putin. The country’s economy is expected to slide into recession this year, according to forecasts by independent observers, driven in part by a collapse in oil prices. Oil revenue makes up around a third of Russia’s government budget.
At the moment, however, many Russians appear to trust the government, according to recent polls. Although anxiety over the virus is increasing and there is evidence of some panic buying, it is far less than the virus-driven stockpiling seen in some parts of the U.S. and Europe.
“It looks a lot calmer here than in the West,” said Denis Volkov, deputy head of the independent Levada Center polling agency in Moscow. “Maybe it’s because we’re just at the beginning of this. But it’s also because of the general trust in institutions and the general public confidence in the ability of those in power to keep the situation under control.”
Russian state media has been quick to highlight any discord among Western countries as they seek to gain control over the crisis and convince their people to abide by social distancing guidelines.
Italy, at the epicenter of the European outbreak, has criticized a lack of help from the European Union. In the early days of the outbreak, Italian officials worried that too many people were leaving their homes and mingling.
“Moscow has found that the United States and the countries of Western Europe, despite their vast resources, are saddled with government inefficiency and loose social discipline,” said Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, a think tank.
An electronic billboard in Moscow shows a doctor wearing a medical mask with the words, ‘Stay home, it will save a life.’
Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press
For the Russian leader, the West’s struggles to respond to the virus have exposed the fragility of globalism and an unraveling of Western and European unity, Mr. Trenin said, in contrast with the ability of Russia and China to take firm unilateral action.
“The vaunted principle of The Three Musketeers’ solidarity, one for all, and all for one, does not apply in this case among NATO allies and EU member states,” he added. “China, by contrast, is rising and reaching higher.”
Mr. Putin closed Russia’s borders with China immediately following the coronavirus outbreak, but was equally quick to offer Beijing help.
He also stepped in to help Italy, dispatching Russia’s military to provide medical personnel and equipment. And Wednesday, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told reporters that Russia would assist all countries “in dire need of support.”
Venezuelan authorities confirmed Monday they had received a shipment from Russia of 10,000 coronavirus diagnostic tests.
For Mr. Putin, such actions are meant to show “that we can manage the crisis and we can help anyone who is in trouble,” said Mr. Kolesnikov, the analyst.
“It’s a clear message that we are better equipped due to our political system. [Putin] is sure that he is more efficient and this is a case to demonstrate his superiority in that sense,” he said.
