Prognosis
Rogue Demographer Says Russia May Top Europe in Covid Deaths
- Former statistics agency employee has criticized virus data
- Daily death numbers need to be tripled, demographer says
Photographer: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images
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A former employee of the Kremlin’s statistics agency says Russia’s daily coronavirus mortality figures understate the real toll from the disease in a country where excess deaths could soon be the highest in Europe.
Alexey Raksha worked as a demographic forecaster at the Federal Statistics Service for more than six years until he left in July amid a dispute over the virus data. He says he was asked to leave after he publicly criticized the government daily death numbers. Raksha also called on the agency, known as Rosstat, to release information about COVID-19 sooner. Rosstat says he left of his own accord.