Two protests, two different outcomes, neither planned

The uprising in Kyrgysztan was supposed to be a peaceful rally, which would force President Akayev into negotiations with dissidents. But when the president tried to break up the rally, things quickly got out of hand.

"The White House was taken by about 40 people," said Bakit Bakitaev, a government worker who watched the final assault. The protesters proceeded so fast that they never had time to agree on a color: The young men at the front donned yellow headbands; other marchers dressed in pink.

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"I am very much disappointed that we had a premature revolution," Baisalov said.

Jeremy Page says democracy won't come easy to Kyrgyzstan, which has to overcome both its "deeply entrenched" clan system and the legacy of the Soviet political system.

Meanwhile, residents of Belarus, inspired by the uprising in Kyrgyzstan, were "beaten back by riot police officers swinging nightsticks."