The announcement made in August by President Vladimir Putin that Russia had approved the first Covid-19 vaccine for use, even before the completion of the tests, caused skepticism around the world, Bloomberg reported.

"Now he may reap diplomatic dividends as Russia basks in arguably its biggest scientific breakthrough since the Soviet era," the article says.

Countries are lining up for Sputnik V shipments after peer-reviewed results, published this week in Lancet, showed that the Russian vaccine protects against the deadly virus not only as well as American and European vaccines, but much more efficient than Chinese competitors.

At least 19 countries have approved vaccination for use, including Hungary, an EU member state, while key markets such as Brazil and India are close to authorizing its use. Russia is currently establishing its position in the valuable EU market as the bloc struggles with its vaccination program amid supply shortages.

In the global battle to defeat the pandemic, which claimed 2.3 million lives in just over a year, the vaccine race has taken on geopolitical significance as governments grapple with the enormous social and economic damage caused by lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the virus. This gives Russia an advantage as one of the few countries where scientists have created an effective defense, the newspaper added.