Only Moscow in summer is more beautiful than Moscow in winter.

It's very hot right now, even in the evening when the sun bathes the skyscrapers, the Kremlin, the stadiums and the haze over the city in a warm light.

The excursion boats sail on the Moskva, the largest river in the Russian capital.

Old and young celebrate together or separately, dancing to Russian and English-language hits.

From the bank you can see the passengers on the boats hooting and jumping, for example recently to an electro-pop number whose refrain calls for making the best of the night, “as if we were dying young”.

Anyone who sees this as a macabre memento mori feels like spoiling fun in the summer frenzy.

Masks hang under the chin or are not worn, as if Corona didn't exist.

Friedrich Schmidt

Political correspondent for Russia and the CIS in Moscow.

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    The official infection numbers, which must always be assessed with reservations, have skyrocketed since the beginning of June;

    It gradually became clear that the so-called delta variant, which in Russia is still mostly referred to as the "Indian" variant, is gaining ground.

    Last Friday, Germany classified Russia as a virus variant area.

    This lets Germans who live in Russia quickly pack their bags: Since the strict quarantine obligation of 14 days does not come into force until this Tuesday, as if the delta danger had been averted for another three days, many fly out quickly and can still go on home leave without them Enjoy quarantine.

    Curfews would hit Russians hard

    As in the past, Moscow is a focal point of the infection scene that particularly affects a large number of young people. For example, the city government has introduced corporate vaccination requirements and incentives designed to encourage people to get one of the three approved Russian vaccines; the fourth, Sputnik Light, is in fact the first dose of Sputnik V. In the wake of the capital, more and more regions are adopting appropriate measures. From this Monday, Muscovites can only visit bars and restaurants with a QR code that identifies them as recovered or vaccinated. Or they bring a negative PCR test.

    Now, under the glass roof of the magnificent GUM department store on Red Square, lines of people who want to be vaccinated free of charge are forming - finally, from the point of view of the authorities. Their vaccination calls went largely unheard for a long time. But the experts do not think that only a "lockdown" and new curfews, as they already existed in Russia in spring 2020, could still slow down the third wave. But they would be unpopular and hit the population hard. Especially since the rulers do not want to bring themselves to meaningful economic support.

    Along with the number of infections, the number of deaths has recently risen.

    This is a warning.

    The fact that Russia's current corona misery is also a consequence of incoherent, populist politics is typically not addressed.

    From the start of the pandemic, the maxim was that Russia was better off than its western rivals.

    This gave the population a feeling of false security, as did the artificially low death rate, which in terms of excess mortality is likely to be at least five times higher than the official 133,000 deaths.

    Does Sputnik V protect against the Delta variant?

    When President Vladimir Putin wanted to catch up on the military parades on Victory Day, which were initially postponed due to the pandemic, and the referendum on constitutional reform, which enables him to remain in the presidency until 2036, the Kremlin quickly proclaimed a "victory" over Corona. The vaccines, especially Sputnik V, were used as geopolitical trump cards against the West, which increased the distrust of many Russians in government and science.