Two years and one week ago: confusion as the Orange revolution kicked off, as supporters of Viktor Yushchenko – now the president – took to the streets to protest apparent vote-rigging by the then prime minister Viktor Yanukovich (now prime minister again following a compromise deal earlier this year).

One week ago: “Sad to see this in the news two years after the Orange Revolution… But it’s not all doom and gloom. The advances made in the first year have not been overturned this year. The media is still more evenhanded than it was. The March election was indeed a fair one.”

Today: “Ukraine’s parliament has dismissed the foreign and interior ministers – key allies of President Viktor Yushchenko.”

And more: “[Sacked Foreign Minister Borys] Tarasyuk said the parliament was launching a ‘war’ against President Viktor Yushchenko to seize some of his power. He called on all democratic forces to join hands in preventing a ‘rollback of democracy.’

“The vote follows a request by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych to fire Tarasyuk.”

This, of course, all coming as Yanukovych visits his supposed close ally Putin in Moscow – and the same day that former Russian Prime Minister “Mikhail Kasyanov called on the opposition to boycott next year’s parliamentary elections. Kasyanov told the Reuters news agency that the vote would be an ‘imitation of democracy.’

“Kasyanov, head of the opposition People’s Democratic Union, said in Moscow that the Kremlin would manipulate the poll to ensure that only loyal parties win seats.”

It’s not just spies being taken out with radiation poisoning – there are moves afoot in the former Soviet Union. Quite what moves, I have no idea. But keep your eyes open…