Excess mortality in Russia and its regions compared to high income countries: An analysis of monthly series of 2020

•Russia has experienced one of the highest excess mortality in 2020, particularly in the 4th quarter of the year.•The patterns of excess mortality in Russia are most similar to those observed in most other CEE countries.•Started in late spring in the two largest cities (Moscow and Saint Petersburg), Russian excess mortality spread to all regions of Russia by the end of 2020.•The negative association between excess mortality and reported cases among Russian regions can be explained by under-recording of the latter.