"send lawyers, guns, and vowels"

(Post title shamelessly lifted from Orrin Judd)

In the months after 9/11 I often looked at maps of Central Asia, memorizing the names, locations, and geopolitical orientation of the various *stans: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and of course Afghanistan and Pakistan. But for the most part, the knowledge didn't stick—one reason why I haven't yet noted here the events of recent weeks in Kyrgyzstan.

Where, it appears, the government has just collapsed under the weight of a people's revolution—the real kind, not the Marxist guns-and-tyranny operation so common in the last century.

President Askar Akayev fled Kyrgyzstan on Thursday after protesters stormed his headquarters, seized control of state television and rampaged through government offices, throwing computers and air conditioners out of windows.

A leading opponent of the Akayev regime, Felix Kulov, was freed from prison and praised the “revolution made by the people.'' Kulov said Akayev had signed a letter of resignation, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Members of the parliament that was in power before February's disputed election met Thursday night to discuss keeping order in the nation and conducting a new presidential vote, perhaps as early as May or June.

Sitting in Akayev's chair surrounded by supporters, opposition activist Ulan Shambetov praised the latest uprising to sweep a former Soviet republic.

“It's not the opposition that has seized power, it's the people who have taken power. The people. They have been fighting for so long against corruption, against that (Akayev) family,'' he said.

The takeover of government buildings in Bishkek followed similar seizures by opposition activists in southern Kyrgyzstan, including the second-largest city, Osh. Those protests began even before the first round of parliamentary elections on Feb. 27 and swelled after March 13 run-offs that the opposition said were seriously flawed. U.S. and European officials concurred.

This seems on the whole good news, though the situation is very much in flux. As I'm really, really not qualified to comment any further, here's two three blogs that will serve you better: The Argus (aka Registan.net), Publius Pundit, and Gateway Pundit.