A first delivery arrived in Venezuela on Friday, according to the government.
- My son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, has informed me of his decision to take the Russian vaccine, to participate in the testing.
I think it is very good, says the president in a televised speech.
The 30-year-old son is also a politician and a member of the ruling Socialist Party PSUV.
The president's eldest sister, doctor María Teresa Maduro, will also take part in the test phase.
"Using our people as guinea pigs"
Russia was met in part by skepticism from the outside world when, in early August, it was the first country in the world to approve a corona vaccine, after less than two months of testing.
"Sputnik V" is now undergoing a phase 3 study and according to Moscow, so far more than 40,000 people have contracted the virus.
Venezuela has, according to official figures, registered 77,646 infected and 649 dead in covid-19 among a population of 30 million.
The figures have been questioned by the opposition and international organizations such as Human Rights Watch.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó criticized the decision to participate in the Russian study.
- They use our people as guinea pigs, he says.