Health Preservation in a Time of Global Challenges: Human Right or Obligation?

The most important task facing a social state, one stipulated by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is public healthcare. The emergence of new, poorly studied infectious diseases endangering the wider public, such as COVID-19, has laid bare the social essence of the Russian State. However, during this period, the State has come up against massive public resistance to preventive measures implemented in accordance with Russian legislation in the belief that the measures were excessively harsh. Why were initial restrictive measures met with such hostility? Does a dangerous new infection justify such measures, are they logical, and do they accord with Russian legislation and the centuries of experience collected by the Russian State. Most citizens are unaware of their obligations before sanitary legislation and the health, hygiene, and education of their children. They are unaware that they are forbidden from engaging in actions that would endanger the health of other citizens and a favourable living environment. What responsibility do people bear for their health? Do people, especially young people, understand the moral obligations they bear for their own health as it pertains to the health of their families and the public health of future generations? Must this responsibility be legislated in the public’s interest, with an understanding of how it forms the basis for the sovereignty and security of the State?