Why Russia became the 'sudden' coronavirus epicenter in Europe

But the worst of the coronavirus saga in Russia might be yet to come, or yet to be exposed, some critics have cautioned.

"The situation in Russia is very much akin to that of China. The government controls the media and is not being open and transparent about a growing public health crisis," added Peter Pitts, president and co-founder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, and former associate commissioner with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Even so, reports from Moscow show Russia as the emerging epicenter of the pandemic, and Moscow is under lockdown. The COVID-19 virus is immune to propaganda, mistruths and half-truths."