What does the situation in Kyrgyzstan mean for Russia and the US?
| 09:00 UK time, Thursday, 8 April 2010
After violent demonstrations on Wednesday, when d bullets, tear gas and stun grenades into the crowds, opposition protestors have overthrown the government, and the President of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev has fled the capital. 65 people have died and more than 400 have been injured. Residents in the capital Bishkek have been contacting the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ about the violence, Bakyt a student says that "my family have a chain of shops and they have been looted, and I'm not optimistic that anything will change now."
The US and Russia have military bases in Kyrgyzstan which has got many wondering what will happen with the bases now? This blogger says:
For the U.S., they are now in a precarious and difficult situation. The new government .... if it is able to consolidate power .... will not take too kindly to allies of the old regime.
blogs about Kyrgyzstan's strategic importance for the west because of its loction, It is not only a military "hard power" but also a "soft power" threat that the Western role in Kyrgyzstan poses to Russia and China?
