that recently held what is widely deemed the first truly competitive election in the entire region (some people say Kyrgyzstan has been going downhill since defeating the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 AD, but the country's history since gaining independence from the Soviet Union is actually quite remarkable. In no other central Asian country were so many would-be megalomaniac dictators chased from office with comparable alacrity). Lastly there is Bangladesh, the first region of the Indian sub-continent conquered by the British East India company in 1757 (the company ruled over the territory for more than a century; in 1862 it became a British crown colony). Today Bangladesh is one of the few predominantly Muslim countries the government of which is regularly headed by a woman (incumbent prime minister SheikhUkraine’s new parliament was sworn in today. More than 400 members took their oaths, but 27 seats remain vacant – the annexation of Crimea, plus the war in eastern Ukraine, prevented deputies being elected there.

It is just one year since people seeking democracy and prosperity began protesting in Kiev’s Maidan Square, leading to the downfall of a kleptocratic regime and descent of a new cold war in Europe. How rapidly the news agenda moves on. Crimea was the first annexation on the continent since 1945 but is now largely forgotten, despite prices soaring and people disappearing or dying in suspicious circumstances if they cross their new rulers. Human Rights Watch has catalogued the import of Vladimir Putin’s trademark tactics of abusing activists and harassing journalists.

Meanwhile, a crippling conflict