For the past two days the word “Samarkand” has been rolling around my head.

Getting old that I am, and not remembering things as well as I did, I had to go refresh my knowledge of what “Samarkand” is/was.

An ancient city, now part of Uzbekistan. I’ve probably watched documentaries that have covered the Silk Road and likely that is how the name got wedged into memory.

Turns out the Russians made it part of the Russian Empire in 1868. Then of course it was wrapped up into the USSR. Only when the USSR dissolved in 1991 did Uzbekistan become independent again.

So Samarkand was under Russian control for 123 years.

Something to think about.