Free Republic

Amid commemorations marking 70 years since the 1941 deportation of the Russian Germans to Central Asia, there is a palpable sense that the community is disappearing. In Bishkek, roughly 30 people gather each Sunday to pray at the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Empty seats are abundant in a room that once was routinely filled to overflowing. Although the pastor is from Germany, services for the past 10 years have been held in Russian. Congregants say perhaps one-third of the worshippers have any German heritage, and only a handful can speak the language. According to the German Language Center in Bishkek, a...

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Opposition leaders in Kyrgyzstan say they have formed a new acting government in the Central Asian nation. The announcement was made Wednesday on a state television channel that opposition members stormed and seized in the capital of Bishkek. Temir Sariyev, an opposition party leader, told The Associated Press that a coalition of politicians had agreed on a new prime minister as well as a new interior minister and new security chief. Officials say 40 people have been killed and more than 400 wounded Wednesday in clashes with police trying to quell the anti-government uprising. THIS IS A...