After the Revolution

Why does so much news from the former Soviet Union remind me of “The Godfather”?

 I found this article this week:

“Severed ears and fingers have been sent in packages to three high-ranking government officials in Kyrgyzstan.

“The body parts were sent to the presidential administration chief, the director of the competition monitoring agency and a member of the electoral commission.”

An opposition leader said the grim deliveries were meant as warnings.

“The finger means: ‘Don’t put your hands where they don’t belong’…The ear means: ‘Be obedient.’”

If they were trying to save paper, they might’ve just made a phone call.

Politics in Kyrgyzstan have been a deadly business in the years since the Tulip Revolution. You’ll see what I mean if you take a quick scroll through recent events on the BBC’s timeline of Kyrgyz news.