Official figures state that 55,000 people have died from Covid-19 in Russia, however, Russia’s deputy prime minister has recently claimed that the actual number of casualties is 186,000, or 80% more than reported due to excess deaths. Excess deaths are classified as the difference between the total number of deaths registered and the average for previous years within the same time period. Russia has been criticized for tallying its official count based on post-mortem examinations.
This means that other deaths linked to the virus not linked as the main cause of death have not been reported. With excess deaths included, Russia could have the third-highest Covid-19 death toll, following the US with 335,000 and Brazil with 192,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In total, Russia has reported 3 million infections.
Read More: Russian Covid deaths three times the official toll
