According to official figures, more than 87,000 people died in Russia in November in connection with the coronavirus, a new monthly record.
In most cases, the virus is considered the main cause of death, the statistics office Rosstat announced in Moscow on Thursday.
According to the state news agency TASS, the Russian government's figures for the previous month are significantly lower at 37,000 deaths.
The discrepancy is explained by the fact that only cases in which the coronavirus was the main cause of death and the confirmation of infection was quickly available were recorded, the report said.
The government's statistics recently showed more than 1,000 new coronavirus deaths every day for weeks. However, this figure was already based on the assumption that the number of unreported cases was high.
Recently, however, the coronavirus situation in Russia had eased somewhat, with more than 900 deaths within one day.
There are no major restrictions in Russia for New Year's Eve, though the health authorities have called on people to refrain from travelling if possible. Random checks on ticket portals, however, reveal high bookings of trains.
