COVID-19 Resource Page

Below is a list of resources on the COVID-19 pandemic in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and links to articles from current events/news websites on the region. We have also included a link to our online curriculum page and a link to updates from summer language programs. If you would like to add a resource or news website to the list, please contact us at reec@illinois.edu

Academic Resources in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

• American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC)
  • COVID-19 in Armenia: https://arisc.org/armenia/
  • COVID-19 in Azerbaijan: https://arisc.org/azerbaijan/
  • COVID-19 in Georgia: https://arisc.org/georgia/
• Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES): https://www.aseees.org/covid-19
• Center for Slavic and East European Studies at The Ohio State University Notes from the Field COVID-19 Series: https://u.osu.edu/slaviccenter/category/fieldnotes/
• EEAS Special Report Update: Short Assessment of Narratives and Disinformation Around the COVID-19 Pandemic: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/eeas-special-report-update-short-assessment-of-narratives-and-disinformation-around-the-covid-19-pandemic/
• Government of the Republic of Croatia Verified COVID-19 Updates: https://www.koronavirus.hr/ (For English site: https://www.koronavirus.hr/en)
• Institute of Public Health of Serbia COVID-19 Updates: https://covid19.rs/ (for English site: https://covid19.rs/homepage-english/)
• Minerva Research Initiative: “National Security Implications of the COVID-19 Crisis: The Urgent Need to Build State Capacity” (April 16, 2020)
• Online Teaching Tools for the Plague-Averse (created by Eliot Borenstein, Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies, New York University): https://www.facebook.com/groups/PlagueAverse/
• Resources to help get through COVID-19 (Google Doc created by academics in REEES on online teaching, working/learning from home, and webinars): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XKI2XGkTIh1fPwlBOBZ6H4i732pvOZHyufaSdFc40Jc/edit#heading=h.z5aseua0gjg
• Social Science Research Center (SSRC): COVID-19 and the Social Sciences (includes information on other world regions)
  • “Trees and Toxins in Soviet Town Planning” (April 21, 2020)

Current Events/News Websites on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia

• Balkan Insight
  • "West's Tension With China Presents Balkans with Tough Choices" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Serbia's Vaccine Diplomacy isn't as Benign as it Looks" (April 1, 2021)
  • "Bosnian Leaders Slammed for Vaccine Scarcity as Pandemic Worsens" (March 31, 2021)
  • "Romanian COVID-19 Protesters Defy Curfew for Third Night" (March 31, 2021)
  • "Albania, Greece, Romania, Serbia Join Global Pandemic Treaty Call" (March 30, 2021)
  • "Serbia Vaccinates Thousands from Region Over Weekend" (March 29, 2021)
  • "Balkan Neighbors Head to Serbia for 'Sunny Weekend and Vaccination" (March 26, 2021)
• Baltic Times
  • "Estonian, Ukrainian presidents discus combating virus, developments in Ukraine" (March 31, 2021)
  • "Better to prevent children from getting Covid-19 - medic" (March 30, 2021)
  • "Lithuania supports steps taken by EC to control vaccine exports from EU - deputy formin" (March 24, 2021)
•  Baltic News Network
  • "Latest COVID-19 cases in Baltics. 638 in Latvia, 869 in Lithuania, 832 in Estonia" (April 1, 2021)
  • "Lithuania's this week's spike in new Covid-19 cases attributed to British variant of virus" (April 1, 2021)
  • "Latvian government decides to keep in place almost all Covid-19 restrictions after Easter" (April 1, 2021)
  • "BNN ANALYSES: Business as usual - Lithuania's M.A.M.A. threw a chic music award ceremony amid COVID-19 upswing" (April 1, 2021)
  • "Estonia postpones Youth Song and Dance Festival to 2023" (April 1, 2021)
  • "Government considers not letting non-vaccinated doctors come to work; Healthcare Minister reminds that vaccination is voluntary" (April 1, 2021)
• Carnegie Moscow Center
  • "Does Coronavirus Herald the Age of Totalitarian Surveillance in Russia and Eurasia?" (March 11, 2021)
  • "Podcast: How Has Coronavirus Altered the Debate on Digital Surveillance?" (December 15, 2020)
  • “Russia in the Asia-Pacific: Less Than Meets the Eye” (September 3, 2020)
  • “Authoritarian Weaknesses and the Pandemic” (August 11, 2020)
• EurActiv
  • "'Falling like flies': Hungary's Roma community pleads for COVID help" (April 1, 2021)
  • "J&J to deliver COVID vaccine to Europe from April 19" (March 30, 2021)
  • "Bulgaria revises COVID-19 measures in five hours" (March 26, 2021)
  • "Foreign vaccine-seekers flock to Serbia for COVID-19 shots" (March 26, 2021)
  • "Czechia secures more COVID-19 vaccines, health minister confirms" (March 25, 2021)
  • "'There is little left we can do', says Estonia's COVID-ridden PM" (March 25, 2021)
  • "Poland 'lacking beds everywhere' as new COVID-19 cases peak" (March 25, 2021)
• EurasiaNet
  • "Kazakhstan: Officials under fire over vaccination failures" (April 1, 2021)
  • "Georgian COVID immunization drive stumbles out of the gate" (March 24, 2021)
  • "As a possible new COVID-19 wave looms, Central Asia is napping" (March 17, 2021)
  • "Kazakhstan: Vaccination campaign proceeds at snail's pace" (March 11, 2021)
• Kyiv Post
  • "No full-fledged international trips for Ukrainians until vaccination end" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Lockdown restrictions toughened in Zaporizhia" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Lockdown to be toughened in Kyiv region from April 5" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Almost 84% of beds with oxygen occupied by COVID-19 patients in Kyiv" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Russia registers 8,792 new COVID-19 cases, 400 deaths" (April 2, 2021)
• The Moscow Times
  • "Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Russia's Coronavirus Vaccine Can Be 'Updated' With New Strains, Developer Says" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Russia Has One of the World's Highest Excess Death Rates. Why Aren't Russians Angrier?" (February 19, 2021)
  • "Russia Re-Opens to Foreign Students, Easing Coronavirus Travel Ban" (February 16, 2021)
• N1 (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) 
  • "39 deaths, 4826 infected in Serbia" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Bosnia reports 2,154 new cases and 88 fatalities" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Croatia reports 2,362 Covid cases, 29 deaths" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Croatia's hospitals increase Covid beds as weekly case load goes up 42 pct" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Serbia relaxes measures despite almost 5,000 newly infected daily" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Doctor says Serbian COVID hospitals swamped" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Over 2.5 million vaccines used in Serbia, over million received second shot" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Bosnia issues document allowing use of Sinovac vaccines donated by Turkey" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Coronavirus: Slovenia enters into 11-day lockdown" (April 1, 2021)
• Novinite
  • "Bulgaria's Chief Health Inspector: Vaccination May Become Essential Condition for Employment" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Covid-19 in Bulgaria: 3,694 New Cases" (April 2, 2021)
  • "Eurovision Song Contest Organizers Limit Audience Due to Covid-19" (April 1, 2021)
  • "Bulgaria Last in EU- Lagging Behind in Vaccination with Less Ordered Quantities" (March 24, 2021)
• Radio Prague International
  • "Czech health minister: Extending interval between Covid vaccines will save lives" (March 29, 2021)

Publicly Available Online Curriculum from REEEC

Looking for activities for children who are home from school? Learn about Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia! REEEC has publicly available curriculum on our region for students ranging from pre-school age to high school: curricula and lesson plans.

COVID-19 Updates from the University of Illinois
For more information and resources on the University’s response to COVID-19, please see https://covid19.illinois.edu/ and http://mckinley.illinois.edu/covid-19