In the space of a week

March 2, 1917.  On this day, Tsar Nicholas abdicates, ending 303 years of rule by the Romanovs in Russia. It's over within the space of a week. Two members of the Duma, Vasily Shulgin and Alexander Guchkov (who, incidentally, also served in the Boer War in South Africa), are sent to meet Nicholas in Pskov, where his train has halted, to persuade him to leave.  Guchkov tells the tsar "This is not the result of a conspiracy, or a premeditated coup, rather the movement erupted from the soil itself, immediately receiving an anarchistic stamp, with the authorities taking a back seat."  The Duma forms a Provisional Government to run the country.

Back to reality in Zimbabwe where there's hope that another autocrat, similarly out of touch with the people, will go away soon.  Zimbabwe is a newspaper paradise, I cannot recall ever seeing as many news posters, plastered everywhere, it seems that every major junction has vendors, who sell newspapers all day long.
A good article this week in the NYT on life in Zimbabwe:  Trade on the Streets, and Off the Books, Keeps Zimbabwe Afloat