Russia reopens ahead of Victory Day with several restrictions in place amid COVID crisis

Russia will be celebrating one of its most important days of the year next week and is reopening the country for festivities to begin. Russia will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of its victory in World War II on June 24 and authorities informed that the country will return to normalcy from June 22, with gymnasiums and swimming pools given permission to resume operations.

However, the Victory Day parade will be restricted for the public and only limited people will be allowed to attend, which will also see President Vladimir Putin in attendance. This year the war veterans who used to watch the parade sitting next to Putin have been quarantined at a health facility outside Moscow and will not attend the event.

Read: Russian PM Says 'impossible To Give Exact Date' For Lifting COVID-19 Restrictions

The reopening of the country comes just days ahead of Victory Day, which is one of the most important days in Russia, where it displays its military might to the world. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has urged people to watch the event through their television sets at home in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Many cities, however, have planned not to celebrate the day as they did every year because of the outbreak. Most cities have refused to hold a parade and those who have agreed are still in stage one of the reopening plan, meaning mass gatherings are still banned. 

Read: Putin Says Russia Passed COVID-19 Peak, Orders WWII Victory Parade On June 24

COVID-19 in Russia

According to figures by Johns Hopkins University, Russia has recorded over 5,83,879 coronavirus infections so far, of which more than 8,100 people have lost their lives. Russia has been relatively successful in handling the coronavirus outbreak if the numbers from the former Soviet Union are to be believed. The mortality rate in Russia is way less than other major countries in the world. Some experts suggest that Russia is not revealing true numbers to the world, the claim which Moscow has denied.

Read: Russia Reports 9,434 New Coronavirus Cases, Nationwide Toll Soars To 335,882

Read: Russia To Ease Border Restrictions With Focus On Tourism Amid Steady COVID-19 Cases

(Image Credit: AP)