There have been no detailed official statements on his condition, but amid the murkiness in Uzbekistan, a former republic of the Soviet Union, one thing seemed certain. There are various examples of similar obfuscation throughout the history of the Soviet Union, beginning with Lenin and continuing through Yuri V. Andropov, who succeeded Leonid I. Brezhnev in 1982. The leadership, including Stalin, fearing that the truth might serve to undermine the nascent Soviet Union, kept the extent of his infirmities secret. The state-controlled newspapers announced on March 4 that Stalin was gravely ill, creating a sensation because no such health bulletin had ever been made before. Again, the Kremlin took so long talking about the succession that it was not ready to go public with the death, Mr. Artemyev said.

Source: International New York Times August 31, 2016 21:00 UTC