The news about Russia doesn't surpise me. Coincidentally, I keep correspondence with someone in Russia (totally NOT what is sounds like
...butwedotalk) and I had mentioned it, just kind of wishing them well - this was 3 weeks ago, when things were just starting to get really real stateside. I'm just going to quote what he said in our last e-mail convo verbatim:
random russian guy said:
We don't have any panic at [all?], our people are trained for much bigger shocks. These shocks are already tired, I want to live a normal, quiet life)
Can't really assume much from that, but I thought it was an interesting sentiment. This idea of persevering through a normal, quiet existence sounds pretty up a modern Russian's alley.
I personally don't think this will go well or last. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose. But if that's more the mindset, I wonder how their lifestyles and ways of operating might differ a little from the typical western way. If my buddy's attitude here is at all common, I might be inclined to think it won't spread as fast due to more people naturally keeping to themselves a little more as is. "Russia is a cold place."
Still don't think that's enough. It might be a little slower to spread, but not a lot of good from that when you're just as slow to react. Not to mention it's not like they're totally asocial compared to other places. I might wonder how many people cross Russia's borders and what the patterns are compared to some of the 'hub' nations that have been hit really hard. Don't really know much about how they're set-up there, in general.
Also... the vodka thing. I remember coming across a story where somebody drank 70% isopropyl and wound up hospitalized after somebody online joked that drinking enough of it would travel everywhere in the body and kill the virus. Of course, that's not going to work because your body is not a sponge that soaks-up liquids you drink, where it just wicks out everywhere. It goes through your GI tract, to your bloodstream in very small concentrations, and then back out. Not sure if that story is true. I don't know how anyone could've believed that was how drinking things worked in the first place.
But then people ARE doing things like getting stuck on cruises and dying from eating fish tank cleaner so...