At a televised meeting with
Vladimir Putin,
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin flatly told the President that official figures on COVID-19 cases were far from the reality.
After that reality check, the official narrative changed swiftly: Putin, who had called the situation "under control", on Wednesday gave a grim-faced address to the nation.
"Putin signed up to Sobyanin's position," opposition politician Vladimir Ryzhkov said on the popular Echo of Moscow radio station.