Having spent decades misleading the public and promoting false information on medical practices, diseases and public health policy, the Russian government and the healthcare system it oversees are now facing profound distrust and suspicion. This atmosphere of doubt and fear is deepening, just as the coronavirus pandemic is poised to engulf the country.

The Russian government has taken serious measures to combat COVID-19, which to date has killed more than 7,000 people worldwide. The Kremlin has closed most entry points along the country’s 2,600 mile border with China, ordered people returning from high-risk areas to self-quarantine, banned many flights and public gatherings, and is rushing to build a new $135 million hospital on the outskirts of Moscow. 

But the numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases – 147 as of March 18, with zero fatalities, in a country of 140 million –  strike many Russians as outlandishly small and suggest that public health information is being hijacked by political considerations.

Already, Russian state television and media outlets with ties to the Kremlin have promoted the hoax that the coronavirus is a U.S.-created bioweapon. It is not alone in making such accusations, either. The conspiracy theory that COVID-19 is a bioweapon manufactured by hostile foreign powers has been advanced by politicians and commentators in nations including China, India, Iran and the U.S.