Sputnik

The findings stand to add legitimacy to the Sputnik vaccine, which was met with skepticism last August when the Russian government touted its move to formally register the world's first vaccine.

The nation has been hard hit by the pandemic. The president vowed to start a vaccination campaign by the end of 2020. That did happen — but not exactly as they'd hoped.

The microblog service announced the move "effective immediately" ahead of a congressional hearing about Russia's use of social media in its influence campaign.