The goal of this paper is to identify critical factors in success/failure of public policies focusing on fighting the spread of COVID-19 pandemic using a sample of three countries from Central and Eastern Europe with different results regarding COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates, namely the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Slovak Republic. Based on comprehensive literature review, three independent variables were worked out: The scope/scale of public policy anti-pandemic interventions, the timing of public policy interventions, and the success of public policies in motivating compliance with anti-pandemic measures. Taking into account the similarity of measures introduced by national governments, the results suggest that the timing of public policy responses and success in motivating compliance may be critical factors in containing the pandemic. © 2020 Tatiana Chubarova et al., published by Sciendo.