Russia pushed vaccine conspiracies. Now it’s backfiring
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It’s 10:55 p.m. in Moscow and customers at my local bar are rushing to finish their cocktails. Waiters are running around with credit card machines. In a city known for its nightlife, it’s a strange scene.
But coronavirus is back in town. Moscow just recorded the highest number of new cases since the pandemic began. Hospital admissions are through the roof — comparable to the first wave — and hundreds are dying every day. In response, the government is tightening restrictions and making vaccinations mandatory. But many Russians say this crisis management is laced with hypocrisy.
”This is the same lockdown they mocked pointing at the ‘dying’ Europe. The same lockdown that they promised they would not introduce,” posted one Twitter user earlier this week.