COVID-19 as a challenge to political system and democracy in Russia and in the world

The COVID-19 pandemic is unfolding at a time when the political system inherent in the last quarter of the 20th - the first decades of the 21st century, with democracy as the key component, is in decline. According to data compiled by Freedom House, democracy has been in a recession for more than a decade, and more and more citizens in different countries, including recognized leaders of democracy, lose and not get civil and political rights every year. The key problem is that COVID-19 could turn a democratic recession into a depression, which threatens to turn political systems toward authoritarianism, the spread of which around the world can be compared to a modern pandemic. The question arises if autocratic regimes generally are able to take tougher political measures to curb the spread of the virus. If so, are they more effective or China is an exception? This article is written as part of the state task on the topic of the NIR for 2019-2021 «Russian Society before New Challenges: Dynamics of Social and Economic Situation, Value Orientations and Social Participation of Various Population Groups».