One of great achievements of USSR was falsification of statistical data on mass scale: 1937 census indicated that population growth was slower than the Party boasted, so the scientists who managed it were imprisoned and results classified.

Today Rosstat is quietly removing data indicating that mortality over the first seven months of 2020 exceeded mortality over the whole 2020.

https://www.znak.com/2020-09-09/za_sem_mesyacev_ubyl_naseleniya_v_rossii_prevysila_pokazateli_za_ves_2019_god