Two decades since Mikhail Gorbachev sent Soviet troops into Kyrgyzstan after hundreds of people were killed in the southern city of Osh, anarchy has returned to the streets and once again Moscow may have to intervene.
Some estimates put the death toll as high as 1,000 after violence between Kyrgyz mobs and ethnic Uzbeks erupted last Friday. Political uncertainty and tensions are constant companions in Kyrgyzstan, which is being run by an interim government after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in April.
Uzbekistan has registered 80,000 adult refugees from Kyrgyzstan and has appealed for humanitarian aid. However, with government security forces being given shoot-to-kill powers, fear has gripped the border areas so there is likely to be a mass exodus unless peace is restored.
Russia has already deployed paratroopers to help protect its military base amid international concern that an escalation of unrest could affect the entire country.
Kyrgyzstan is pivotal to the war in Afghanistan because it is the main transit hub for troops and supplies.
Interim leader Roza Otunbayeva has called for Russian intervention but Moscow has so far resisted. However, following talks with the regional bloc, known as the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, comprising Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, a peacekeeping force is likely to be deployed.
Doing nothing is simply not an option considering the international consequences at stake. The threat of civil war — or even the break-up of the country — looms larger with every passing hour.
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