Kyrgyzstan, once part of the Soviet Union, is the only country that is home to both US and Russian airbases, an arrangement that hasn’t always been tension-free. As riots erupted last week, hundreds of thousands of people fled the country and the government turned to Russia for military aid.
Russia supplied a small number of troops — but only to protect its own base. Meanwhile, the US supports Kyrgyzstan — but through financial assistance rather than arms.
Graphic by Jez Burrows.
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