Coronavirus Tests Fly by Private Jet as Russia’s Tycoons Step Up

Hours after the first coronavirus diagnosis in Apatity, a city of 55,000 people above the Arctic Circle, a Gulfstream jet owned by the billionaire Guryev family flew in 100 express test kits.

Hundreds more donated by the family soon followed to the region where their PhosAgro PJSC mines key ingredients for fertilizers, an example of how Russia’s billionaires are spending more than $300 million they’ve pledged to help contain the pandemic.

With the front lines of Russia’s battle against coronavirus moving from Moscow to the often remote regions where many of the country’s industrial assets are located, tycoons are taking steps to attempt to cushion the blow in areas where they are the primary employers.

Their contributions to buy medical equipment, protective gear and even build hospitals have bolstered government spending, and often arrived quicker than help from the state.

President Vladimir Putin, who ordered most Russians to stay home until the end of this month, has warned that the epidemic has yet to peak and is spreading deeper into the regions. Russia is near the top of the list of new cases in the world, adding 21,206 confirmed diagnoses in the past four days. 513 have died to date. The government has gradually ramped up spending on health and economic support programs as the virus and a historic crash in oil prices push the country toward recession.

Business owners “understand that public discontent is growing and they are making a down payment,” said Natalia Zubarevich, head of regional studies at Moscow’s Independent Institute for Social Policy. “They need to take care of the goose that lays the golden eggs.”

The measures tycoons are taking may help keep their businesses operational, according to Zubarevich. An outbreak could have a catastrophic impact, especially in Russia’s “monocities” — the one-company towns where about 10% of the population lives. While most aid is for medical needs, some has gone to providing small business a lifeline and meals for vulnerable populations.