When the coronavirus first struck Europe, most governments instinctively assumed the countries of central and eastern Europe would fare the worst, as they are poorer than the rest of the continent and their less-developed public services unable to cope with the huge strain of a national health emergency.
To everyone's relief, that did not turn out to be the case. In many respects, the former communist nations of central and eastern Europe that only joined the European Union over the past two decades have done better than their western brethren.
The division between the eastern and western parts of Europe, which dates to the end of World War II almost exactly 75 years ago, is not just about history. Because the countries of eastern Europe languished under communist rule for almost half a century, their economies are less developed.
And although the economies of the former communist east have roughly doubled in size over the past two decades, the gap remains. The Czech Republic and Slovakia - the richest in the region on a gross domestic product per capita basis - are still 20 per cent below Germany's wealth, while in Romania and Bulgaria, among the poorest, the average citizen is 50 per cent poorer than the average German.
Still, when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, the central and eastern Europeans have done much better than anyone dared to predict. They are all reporting far lower infection rates than western Europe. And although this may be attributed to fewer tests being conducted, the reality still is that mortality rates have been very low.
While Spain has recorded over 500 deaths per million residents and France and Britain have each suffered a death rate of around 400 per million, Poland - the biggest country in central Europe - has had a coronavirus-related mortality rate of only 17 per million, and even Romania - the second-biggest nation and one of the worst-hit - posted only 38 deaths per million.
One chief reason for such encouraging statistics is the fact that the international mobility of central and eastern Europeans is lower, and as a result, infections which started in the western part of the continent took longer to hit the region.
Governments in central and eastern Europe also used the headstart they got - which amounted to about a month - efficiently.
Unlike the British government, for instance, which believed itself to be exceptionally well prepared only to find it was not, the nations in the eastern part of the continent made no such assumptions.
The wearing of face masks was quickly made compulsory, and politicians such as Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis were among the first in Europe to appear in public wearing them.
Mr Babis is so convinced that the imposition of compulsory masks made all the difference that he publicly appealed to the United States President to do the same. "Mr President @realDonaldTrump, try tackling the virus the Czech way," he argued in a recent tweet.
Although it is debatable whether the wearing of masks is the only explanation for the region's slower infection rates, the fact remains that central and eastern Europeans took all health precaution measures seriously, largely because they were only too aware of just how exposed they could be. Ironically, it was their perceived weakness that has proven to be their strength in dealing with the pandemic.
Nonetheless, political tensions between the two halves of the continent are mounting.
Poland has come under criticism for deciding to go ahead with its presidential election on May 10, despite the pandemic.
The vote will be by post in order to limit the risk of infection, but only about a third of Polish citizens are predicted to vote, so what is intended to be a great exercise in democracy could turn into a farce.
"The procedure of voting by post in this form and time, as proposed by the ruling party, are pseudo-elections. We will not take part," reads a protest issued by former Polish presidents, prime ministers and even Mr Donald Tusk, who recently concluded his term as president of the European Council, the body which unites all EU heads of state and governments.
Meanwhile, Dr Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the European Commission, has indirectly rebuked the Hungarian government for assuming emergency powers to rule by decree during the pandemic. "Any emergency measures must be limited to what is necessary and strictly proportionate," she warned.
Still, and at least for the moment, it is precisely the eastern half of the continent that western Europeans never took very seriously which appears to have emerged from the current crisis in better shape.
