COVID-19 as a trigger of precarity

The paper presents the results of a series of sociological studies carried out in Moscow Region, Russia’s largest heterogeneous region, illustrating the numerous manifestations of precariousness in all major spheres of the economic and social life, intensified in the context of the measures taken to counter the spread of COVID-19. A description of the global manifestations of the spread of precarity in the context of the current pandemic is supplemented with a discussion of the Russian peculiarities of combating the pandemic and aspects of life under quarantine in the capital region, as well as the effects thereof on precarity. Subtle aspects of the attitude of Russia’s residents to the official information about the epidemic and the authorities efforts to counter the spread of coronavirus are presented. Special attention is paid to the peculiarities of doing business in the context of a large-scale lockdown, directly contributing to an increase in precarity in its various manifestations. Relevant current issues, potential solutions, and information manipulations of the collective consciousness are discussed.

precarity, coronavirus, trigger, lockdown, epidemic, countermeasures, Moscow Region, employment, temporality, business, quality of life

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