Health security

Exclusive: Rich Russians Are Hoarding Ventilators to Protect Themselves Against the Coronavirus

The family is one of Russia’s richest. Worth over $1 billion, it owns homes in some of the world’s most sought after destinations, including London and the south of France.

It also has a mansion in Rublyovka, the luxury suburb outside Moscow that is home to much of Russia’s ruling elite. It is here that the family is planning on riding out the coronavirus pandemic that has swept across the globe in recent weeks, killing 12,000 and counting.

While Russia’s rich can self-isolate in splendor, there will be some hardships they might be forced to bear if the coronavirus spreads throughout the country: State-run hospitals are the only institutions taking in patients of the virus.

But The Moscow Times has found evidence, based on dozens of interviews, that Russia’s rich are setting up makeshift clinics in their own homes to ensure they can have better care than the masses if they get infected. And in what may have severe ramifications down the road for Russia’s battle against the coronavirus, they are buying up and hoarding the ventilators that have proven essential in saving lives in severe cases.