Uzbek Uprising

Central Asia's wave of unrest has hit Uzbekistan, one of the region's more brutal despotisms. At least one town seems to have liberated itself, at least temporarily:

On Saturday, as news of the violence in Andijan [where troops massacred protesters] filtered into Korasuv, local people went to the mayor demanding that a border crossing to the Kyrgyz side of the town, shut down by the authorities two years ago, be reopened.

Correspondents say locals saw the closed border as an attempt to grind them down by denying them access to the thriving market on the other side.

When the mayor refused, he was beaten. Angry crowds set fire to the militia headquarters, the road police and the tax inspector's office -- the three most visible representatives of the central government….

Korasuv residents have been meeting to discuss how to run their own affairs. The town is currently reported to be calm, but there is apprehension that the central authorities may move to take control…

Gateway Pundit has a roundup of Uzbekistan stories here. Scraps of Moscow has been translating Russian coverage here.