The Impact of COVID-19 on Students in Russia

Margo continued to explain what school looked like at the beginning of quarantine and how it has changed since. “During the end of the 2019-2020 school year”, she explained, “my school had a few weeks of distance learning, without the use of technology. In April and May, we would receive homework assignments in the mail and send our work back in the mail. There were no lectures or actual class learning time for my school, but other schools had zoom classes.”

In September through December of last year, Margo’s school had in-person learning with the students spending the entire day in one classroom, and the teachers moving from class to class in masks. After winter break, the students and teachers came back to school, not having to wear masks nor abide by any social distancing restrictions.

Yeysk is a small resort town located on the coast of the Azov sea, about 800 miles below Moscow. The city has a population of only a little over 83,000. Margo’s father works in a much larger city, Saint Petersburg, which has a population of about 5.5 million. Manusadzhian says there are more Covid restrictions in St. Petersburg than there are in her hometown, and masks are mandatory in public transportation, stores, and schools. Most students go to school, but some have continued with online classes.

In another interview, Daria and two of her freshman classmates from Yeysk explained how covid has affected life in their town. The girls stated facts similar to what Margo reported about the effects of Covid 19-restrictions on the general public; they are very minimal.

In the first few weeks of quarantine most refrained from going outside, but Daria took advantage of the empty city. “In those first few weeks it was a total ghost-town, unusual for Yeysk. Gyms were closed and staying inside all day drove me crazy so I walked outside every day, enjoying the quiet of the empty streets” -Daria.

One of her friends chimed in, “Currently, the environment we live in has not changed since before the pandemic. But now there are two types of people: there are people that couldn't care less about the pandemic and live their lives as if the virus did not exist, and then there are those who are hyper-aware of the pandemic. The latter take extreme measures to protect themselves and their families.”

Dana, the other classmate, added:

“Nothing has drastically changed, but I do see more people that are reluctant to meet in large groups. The only time it has felt different, prior to the pandemic, was during the first month or two of the quarantine when the world went into total lockdown. Nowadays, we don’t think much about it. I find it funny when people freak out about social distancing,” she laughs, “But, masks are a usual thing to see in public.”