Via Ellipsis – Russia
New Normality (Глава 3)
Saturday, Nov. 20
I got sick and tired of my groundhog days, and, as it became a little milder outside, Artem proposed a long walk in the park to which I immediately agreed. Unfortunately, my feet got soaked, and I was chilled to the bone. I thought a cup of mulled wine would do me good, so we decided to pop into a café. Only the third attempt was a lucky one: they didn’t ask for a Covid QR code, but they also didn’t have any mulled wine. Had some herbal tea instead.
It’s no problem for Artem to go wherever he wants: he has a paper proving he was vaccinated, only in fact, he wasn’t. He told me that once, at school, he got vaccinated against the flu and developed such a severe form of this viral infection that he had never had either before or after. So, he said he was done experimenting with his body. Actually, a bunch of my acquaintances were farsighted enough to obtain such proof in the summer, including one paramedic doctor.
Sunday, Nov. 21
Asked Artem if he could pass me the contact details of his ‘vaccination’ doctor. He said that such things had been possible earlier, but not now. They have tightened up the laws, making a fraudulent certificate a criminal offence, so physicians are not willing to take the risk. Life sucks.
Tuesday, Nov. 23
My mouse died all of a sudden, in the middle of a workday, so I decided to go to a nearby mall to fetch a new one. I was told that people heading to the mall’s hypermarket are not required to show their QR code. My plan was to sneak inside, pretending I had to do grocery shopping and then go to an electronics store to buy the required piece of equipment.
The ground floor of the mall looked more like the security screening checkpoint of an airport with rope barriers and a long line of people. When it was my turn to show a QR code, I said to the guard that I was going to the hypermarket. Was told that without an e-certificate, one can enter the hypermarket only after 10 p.m. when all other shops are closed. Probably, I should have used the QR code Artem shared with me: I don’t think the guard checked the info thoroughly, but I just don’t want to take the risk of having to pay fines and penalties or, worse, be subject to criminal proceedings.
So, I bought a mouse from a kiosk in the nearby pedestrian underpass. Asked for a quality one and was given ‘an everlast model’ by the vendor. Maybe it WILL last forever, but it works really funny. Had to ask Artem to buy me another.
Dad has finally broken the fever and has a normal body temperature. But his PCR test result is still positive, so he must stay in the hospital.
Wednesday, Nov. 24
Have noticed that with delivered meals and a sedentary lifestyle I have started to gain weight. So I went on a diet and had some steamed veggies and brown rice instead. Also made myself exercise for almost an hour, repeating the moves of a coach on YouTube. It’s officially my first full-time exercising in almost a month, what with lockdowns turning into bans for those without QR codes.
Friday, Nov. 26
Dad’s home!
Saturday, Nov. 27
Went round to my parents’ place with Artem to welcome dad’s return home. My elder sister Katia also popped in with her kids. Mum made a festive meal with an assortment of salads, pickles, roast chicken as the main course, and also home-baked pirozhki with a variety of fillings. Bye-bye waist.
Dad shared a lot of stories about his stay in the hospital: “There was this guy, Vitia, a nice chap about my age. He told me that he had lost his best friend to Covid, and he thought that he had contracted the virus while carrying his coffin. Although he was vaccinated. And another guy, Roma. He was in a different ward, but when he was heading to the bathroom that was some twenty meters away, he always popped into ours and had a rest on one of the beds to catch his breath. His trip back also included this pit stop. But the most surprising thing is that smokers are discharged way faster than non-smokers. It seems nicotine helps fight the virus.” So, a drop of nicotine kills not only a horse.
Also had a talk with Katia, which became rather heated. She inquired about what was going on. I replied that I have no going, only staying-in.
“Why don’t you get vaccinated?” she asked.
“Because I have already suffered from the disease and do not want to repeat the cycle with an injection of I-do-not-know-what,” I replied.
“My husband and I got a shot and neither of us has had any Covid. We did have a fever following the injection, but it is nothing compared to what ill people go through.”
“I wonder why you got vaccinated in the first place. You are never ill.” It’s true: Katia might have bouts of high blood pressure, but she never has a cold or the flu. Unlike me, I always catch whatever’s in the air.
“We can only fight this virus together. The more people get vaccinated, the sooner the pandemic will be over. Otherwise, the virus will continue to mutate and be with us forever.”
“Look, you want me to believe that vaccines help stave off the virus, while dad just told us there were dozens of vaccinated patients with him.” I looked at her incredulously. Katia is a grown-up and not a dumb person, but oh my is she gullible!
“Vaccines do help. A few might develop Covid, but the majority will be protected. It’s proven scientifically.”
“And it is also proven scientifically that the placebo effect exists. Look, it’s all about money. First, the government pays certain institutions for developing the vaccine, and then – for buying that vaccine. It’s like taking money from your right pocket and putting it into your left. There’s so much room for various schemes. But of course, if no one wants to get vaccinated, they can’t pour funds into purchases. The way out: make everyone get a shot. Two shots, to be precise.” I could feel anger starting to boil in me.
“You know my friend Natalia, don’t you? The one who’s fighting cancer,” Katia said calmly. “It was her birthday yesterday, and we talked a lot. Last year, she had a nasty bout of Covid, barely pulled through. This year she got vaccinated and, thank God, hasn’t been infected. You know, in her condition it is vital not to contract any virus. Or Mikhail Ivanovich. He’s in his sixties and has a bunch of chronic diseases: diabetes, thyroid problems, and a past heart attack on top of that. He was among the first to get his shot, and also hasn’t caught Covid. It is the elder and the sick who are in the most danger from this modern plague, and it is good that they can ward off the virus.”
“And do you remember Masha?” I asked, “She used to be our neighbor back then, and still lives somewhere near here. I ran into her recently. She was tear-stricken and crushed, and was choking on words while telling the story of her brother. He got vaccinated, but, just a few days after, developed internal bleeding and died. She repeated several times that one should steer clear of these vaccines. And she is a pharmacist.”
“I’m sorry about the guy. It really is awful. I don’t know what caused his condition, but it is truly terrible,” Katia said gravely.
“Is there any objective proof of the efficacy and safety of our vaccines?” I continued pressing my point. “No! None of them were recognized by WHO. But we all have to get vaccinated with them or we are treated as second-class citizens. If the government truly cared about us, we would at least be given a choice: to get a shot of a Russian vaccine for free or a shot of a foreign vaccine for a fee. But no! Those who took pains to fly abroad to get a jab of an overseas vax are regarded on par with those who haven’t been inoculated.”
“You know it’s all politics, don’t you? They do not recognize Sputnik1, so we refuse to accept their vaccines. But that doesn’t mean our vaccines are bad,” Katia insisted. “I know many people who got vaccinated and now enjoy good health, and some others who didn’t but are no longer with us. I do not need any other proof.”
“Well, I do. Because it IS just politics for the elite, not for the life and health of the people.”
At this point, dad interfered and brought the conversation round to the weather. An all-time pacifier.
(…to be continued…)
Footnotes
1. The name of the first iteration of the Russian Covid vaccine.
Transadaptation Volume 7 – Via Ellipsis – Continuation of Uncertainty, Instability and Extremes Transadapted
January: An Unexpected Trip Down Memory Lane – Sarah-Leah Pimentel (South Africa)
February: Blow-up – Veronika Groke (Austria)
March: Futuros Murguistas – Alejandra Baccino Uberti (Uruguay)
April: The Nomenclature Man – Paulius Limantas (Lithuania)
May: Amanecerá y veremos – Adriana Uribe (Colombia)
June: Finding Light in Yerevan – Armine Asryan (Armenia)
July: The Last Judgement – Nadia Silva Castro (Brazil)
August: Puzzled – a collaged nivola by and of perypatetik authors (International)
September: Second Steps – Jonay Quintero Hernandez (Spain)
October: New Normality – Svetlana Molchanova (Russia)
November: Beyond Comprehension – Rahaf Konbaz (Syria)
December: Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Worm? (Parts I and II) – Narantsogt (Natso) Baatarkhuu (Mongolia)
Background – Context
Transadaptation Volume 6: Meaning? – Uncertainty, Instability and Extremes Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2025)
Transadaptation Volume 5: Of Flowing Vicissitudes – Life Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2024)
Transadaptation Volume 4: Material Dissent – Adulthood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2023)
Transadaptation Volume 3: Evanescent – Young Adulthood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2022)
Transadaptation Volume 2: Conceived – Childhood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2021)
Transadaptation Volume 1: In the Middle – Prelude to a Contemporary Transadaptation, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2020)
Peripatetic Alterity: A Philosophical Treatise on the Spectrum of Being – Romantics and Pragmatists by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
La Syncrétion of Polarization and Extremes Transposée, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2018)
L’anthologie of Global Instability Transpuesta, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2017)
From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin: German and Russian Stories Transposed to Modern-day America, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2013)
Emblems and stories on the international community
Perception by country – Transposing emblems, articles, short stories and reports from around the world
Credits
Background photo: Saratov, Russia – The river facade – Kirill Skorobogatko (Shutterstock)
Inserted photos (top: left to right): 1. Saratov, Russia – The Volga Beach – White Fox (Shutterstock); 2. Saratov, Russia – The busker – CTatiana (Shutterstock)
Inserted photos (middle: left to right): 1. Saratov, Russia – In the park – Fire-fly (Shutterstock); 2. Saratov, Russia – Prospekt Kirov – Maxim Novikov (Shutterstock); 3. Saratov, Russia – The academic theater – Lapandr (Shutterstock); 4. Engels, Russia – Saratov Operetta Theater – Shushonok (Shutterstock)
Inserted photos (bottom: left to right): 1. Saratov, Russia – Barbecuing in the forest – Irina Wolfe (Shutterstock); 2. Saratov, Russia – Entering – Irina Wolfe (Shutterstock); 3. Saratov, Russia – Skating – Natka-i (Shtterstock)