Russia admits its death toll is three times higher
More than 80% of the excess deaths in Russia this year are linked to the coronavirus pandemic, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova has said.
According to the Rosstat statistics agency, there were almost 230,000 additional deaths between January and November this year compared to 2019 – which would give Russia a total coronavirus death toll of more than 186,000.
The revised total is more than three times higher than the estimated 55,000 fatalities previously acknowledged by Russian authorities.
Only two other countries – the US and Brazil – have reported a higher number of deaths in the pandemic.
Russia has developed its own vaccine, the Sputnik V, which it has already begun rolling out.