Unshaven and puffy-faced, with tubes in his nose, a patient in a hospital’s coronavirus “red zone” recorded a desperate message for Russians. “I turned my life and my health into a disaster,” said Innokenty Sheremet, 55, who is from the Ural Mountain region city of Yekaterinburg and came down with covid-19 after forgoing vaccination. “I turned into an infirm old man,” he continued, describing “terrible pain from any movement.” Many employees at his TV news agency also became infected. Sheremet survived, but his news service collapsed. In Russia, a “fourth wave” of coronavirus is setting records in daily infection and death numbers, according to official statistics. But the truth is far worse, say independent demographers and data analysts who are challenging the pandemic data issued by President Vladimir Putin’s government and who, in turn, are facing retribution from authorities. At least three top researchers have been […]