You are quite right of course -- painting the grass green is very common. I remember it in Romania when Michael Jackson came for a concert -- the only time the fountains in Bucharest were turned on. The deceptions during VP Wallace's visits were also on my mind there. But I've seen the phenomenon in my own work environment when we were asked to get new trash cans when someone came for a tour. The practice is by no means limited to former Communist governments.

Thank you so much for reading!!