Russian Virus

HOW RUSSIANS ARE REACTING TO THE CRISIS

By Stephen Wilson

 

             DON"T LEAVE THE ROOM!

 

             Schools and universities have closed down switching to long distance lessons while public places such as swimming pools, cinemas, and theaters close down. But supermarkets, shops, restaurants and the metro remain open.

 

             "My father in law who is 67 was stopped by the police and reprimanded with the words: "Why are you not at home? You have to stay at home. The next time we catch you again we will punish you!" My boss was stopped by the police and asked, "Where are you going?" But he is 51! I also got stopped by the police and had to tell them my exact age," said my friend Pavel, a courier. The intensified police checks are due to a recent order by the Mayor of Moscow, Sobyanin, that all people who are 65 and above must remain at home for their own safety, least they become infected by Coronavirus. However, many old people are unaware of this and when this order is enforceable. It is supposed to come into effect tomorrow. The police may be unwittingly performing their checks prematurely. But the measure perhaps serves as an indication as to how confused some people may be about what exactly they can and can't do.

              Some information claims old people can go out shopping once a day, other policemen who stop you claim they cannot.  

 

              Compared to London, and New York, which is practically wholly closed down, Moscow is half-closed down. The metro is fully operating and it is still possible to visit restaurants and go shopping. When I went for a walk today the weather was fantastic. The air was clear, cool, light, pleasant and transparent. But I noticed changes from last week. I passed by more people wearing face masks and even encountered a strange young man wearing a gas mask. Wearing a mask had almost become a norm. It is often the case that some buy masks here, but don't wear them because "real men don't wear such masks." That has largely changed.

 

              In general, the government expects people to self isolate themselves and avoid crowded places, wash their hands and faces and stay at home. As in Joseph Brodsky's poem, 'Don't leave the room, but stay at home ... You have everything you want in your room'.

              There have been a few signs of panic-buying. In some supermarkets you can no longer buy buckwheat or toilet paper. Nevertheless, if you really search you'll find

those items. Despite exceptions, most people have kept their calm composure.

 

              THE RELIGIOUS RESPONSE

 

              Unlike in France, the churches have not been closed down. One Orthodox priest told Oksana Chebotareva: "A good thing about Russia is that Russians can go to church and take communion". Despite the fact that many of those churches are often overcrowded, people keep going to church. When you ask them if they are not afraid of catching an infection by kissing an icon or by staying in a crowded place, they give a standard response such as, "God would not allow such a thing" or "We are protected here by God". When I visited Oksana I was astonished to find she had not taken down her Christmas tree. She told me, "It has a pleasant smell which can act as a disinfectant against any virus".

              Later on my walk I dropped into an Orthodox church to see how they were reacting to the virus. What I discovered in this Church devoted to the Mother of God within the vicinity of the Aviation Museum in Dinamo amazed me. I was confronted by a huge icon of the Mother of God which was being used to to protect church goers from the threat of Coronavirus. A note next to the Icon informed me that this very icon had been used in a ceremony to save a village from plague in 1771. A local doctor had warned the local church not to gather in a crowd because it would help spread the plague. The local people took this icon up to 200 people dying from the plague, performed a ceremony and out of 200 people afflicted with the plague only 3 died. The rest recovered. The doctor, who was a Protestant, converted to Orthodoxy. This icon was used again and again, in the 19th century when plague or Cholera struck. And it is being used again to protect people from another virus in 2020. Somethings never change!

 

              EDUCATION GOES ON-LINE

 

              At present, as many as 80 percent of students in further education have switched to on line distance courses. But all the schools have been close down completely.

              In the area of  schools, things can be complex and confusing. From Monday, March 16th, schools were half closed down. School students were granted the option of going to school or not. The decision was left to the parents. This was for one week. But this half-hearted measure made the work of teachers very daunting. They were asked to simultaneously teach on-line lessons as well as face to face lessons at work. They found themselves doing twice as much work as usual. But even when all the schools were forced to close there were problems.

              A teacher, Irina Lukyanova stated: "What is to be done? If the family does not have a computer, nobody knows". Another problem is whether families have enough computers or laptops for such distance learning. A big family might have many children. Nevertheless, what is amazing is how many teachers are coping with this difficult transition to on-line teaching via programs such as Zoom and Google classroom. What is certain is that teachers are confronted with a new scenario where final year exams may be postponed to a further date and the length of summer holidays either curtailed or extended. Everyone is asking 'When will this crisis pass?" People have had their incomes curtailed, lost their jobs and seen their businesses go to the wall. The crisis has been compounded by a plummet in the price of a barrel of oil to lower than 25 dollars as well as a drastic decline in the fall in the value of the ruble. Although some journalists speak as if we are on the edge of the apocalypse it is worth remembering they spoke the same way in 1998, 2008 and 2014. And Russia has experienced far worse situations in her history. This crisis is not forever. It will pass. A source in the Ministry of Health stated, "It will take two months to pass". When I told some Russians this it did not console them. Two weeks had been difficult enough. Many people can't even go two weeks without work because they'd face being evicted a landlord. As usual the full burden of this crisis will fall on the shoulders of the poorest sections of the community as well as the hard up.  All my students have cancelled their business trips and holidays abroad. Because so many flights have been cancelled some Russians are stranded and can't return home. When Russians asked the Russian consulate in Bulgaria to return home they told them, 'We can't help you."

              They simply advised them to keep washing their hands. A Bulgarian, Olga, who lives in Moscow told me, "I wonder how British teachers will cope with the crisis and get home as their schools have been closed?  They are not fully insured and can't just return home to England and flights have been cancelled. Where are they going to go? What are they going to do?" Just stay in the room? But how long can you stay in the room?