Unrest in Kyrgyzstan

Trouble has again erupted in the former Soviet republic (now an independent country) of Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic). Since independence in 1991, and then the subsequent Tulip Revolution of 2005, political stabiity has been difficult to come by, primarily because of ongoing corruption issues and the failure to the government to develop any sort of firm economic basis for the country's citizens.

Katyn Tragedy Redux

As if the first Katyn Forest massacre was not enough, Poland now must mourn again. A plane of Polish army and political leaders crashed in heavy fog conditions as they were on their way to a memorial service at Katyn (60 years since the original massacre in 1940 of Polish military leaders by the Soviet secret police and military on the orders of Stalin). The memorial service was to be attended by PM Vladimir Putin himself as a gesture to improving Polish-Russian relations, which have tended to be quite frosty over the years.