2020 in Russia

Events in the year 2020 in the Russian Federation.

Incumbents

January 22 – Russia is seen as the tenth most corrupt country in the world.
January 30 – Russia closes its land border with the People's Republic of China to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

February 20 – Russian authorities suspend the entry of Chinese citizens to Russia for employment, private, educational and tourist purposes, due to fears of the COVID-19 Outbreak.

March 24 – COVID-19 pandemic: Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin told President Putin at a meeting that "a serious situation is unfolding" and that the relatively low number of confirmed cases could be due to a low level of testing, saying that "there are far more people who are infected" and that the number of people in Moscow suspected of having the coronavirus was about 500. A number of venues and parks in Russia including Crocus Expo in Krasnoyarsk, Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy and Patriot Park in Moscow and Lenexpo in Saint Petersburg were turned into temporary hospitals.
March 28 – the government decided to close all automobile, railway, pedestrian, river, or other border checkpoints, including on the Belarus border, with exceptions similar to that of the air travel restrictions.

April 10 – 2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war: Russia and Saudi Arabia, when implementing the new OPEC+ agreement from May to the end of June 2020, will have to produce no more than 8.5 million barrels of oil per day.
April 30 – Russia announced there are more than 100,000 people infected by the coronavirus; Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that his tests for coronavirus showed positive results, his First Deputy Andrey Belousov was appointed as Acting Prime Minister.

May 1 – Vladimir Yakushev Minister of Construction Industry, Housing and Utilities Sector, was hospitalized after he was diagnosed with coronavirus. His deputy was appointed as acting minister.

June 4 – Russian President Putin agreed to declare a national emergency after the 20,000 tons of diesel spill near Norilsk.

July 1:
* The 2020 Russian constitutional referendum, Due to Yes Vote, The amendments include sweeping changes to the constitution, including allowing Putin to run again for two more six-year presidential terms, constitutionally banning same-sex marriage, enshrine the status of the Russian language, placing the constitution above international law, the minimal residency requirement for presidential candidates will be raised from 10 years to 25; and may not have ever in their life held foreign citizenship or residency.
* The railway-cargo part of the Krymsky bridge through Kerch Strait has been opened.

August 20 – A Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny felt unwell while being on a place from Tomsk to Moscow. The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, and Navalny was taken to the hospital, where he fell into a coma. He was transported to Germany shortly after. The German government later announced that the politician was poisoned.

September 13 – Local elections were held including the election of the heads of 17 Republics and the election of deputies of legislative bodies in 11 districts of the Russian Federation. In regions where governors resigned after June 13, 2020, elections were held on a single voting day in 2021. A new governor was elected in Sevastopol, Leningrad Oblast.
September 21 – Caucasus 2020 multinational command post exercise will start

The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case due to pollution and massive death of marine animals in the Avacha Bay of Kamchatka.

December 2 – President Vladimir Putin launched the COVID-19 vaccination campaign with the Sputnik V vaccine developed at the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.
December 18 – The press service of TNT TV channel announced the closure of the Russian longest-running reality show Dom-2.
December 21 – Alexei Navalny's team published the politic's phone conversation with FSB officer Kudryavtsev. According to the recording, the officer admitted that Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. The Federal Security office called it a provocation.

October 2 – A Russian journalist Irina Slavina self-immolated in front of the building of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Police. In her last post on Facebook, she blamed the Russian Federation for her death.