It raised its ugly head again,

As Kremlin's monstrous grizzly roared out of its den

Its hibernation is over and it's not even springtime

The whole world can see as it shows its might

Its total disregard for law and order and human rights

An octet of aged men, the junta, the alleged leaders

KGB, military, ministers, party functionaries, political elders

The Old Guard, the ruthless, all with blood stained hands

Suddenly, they are in charge, and democracy they dispelled

The soul already in the devil's debt, they have no heart or compassion

Their resumes studded with achievement of destruction

They quickly order the Red Army to hold everything under Kremlin's control

Including the republics already on their way to freedom

They scare the meek with tanks, like exposed fangs

Baring the teeth, ready to attack, dispensing revenge

The constitutional leader, banished to somewhere

            And  kept under house arrest

They tighten the noose and threaten the rest

Martial law they declared as the order of the day

But there was no one in Moscow, willing to obey

Tanks showed up, barricades formed

Whom and when will they arrack, these new soviet hordes

Centers of communications shut-off or censored

The right to demonstrate or strike: cancelled

The barrel of the gun was the reason they presented

But the people of Russia spoke: Junta's demands they flatly rejected

The Soviet beast rose and the tanks rolled in, their engines roared

Hope, fear, defiance, determination of the Russians rose

The people stood their grounds, localities shifted

One at a time at first, and then later we witnessed

As all members of the junta exited.

The whole world watched in horror

Asking, is the Soviet Union returning to her old form

Will the first and the last word belong to the party again?

Anyone trying to insert a word in-between the first and the last word

Will the KGB demand their head, and the Red Army tramples on the rest.

Who is going to guide these misguided men

Who grew-up, without love and strived on revenge

The beast raised its ugly head, Kremlin's bear, and expert in grizzly acts

But the Russian Bear also came-in roaring now and democracy it is ready

            to protect

The Junta, the Old Guard, whose patron saint is Stalin, as he burns in hell

Suddenly they high-tailed out of the Kremlin without a farewell

Hopes are high, troops to their barracks return

The beginning of democracy, Soviet style stood its test

There is still no food in the stores for all to have

There is no plenty of goods from which to select

But a much more important choice was made

The people of the Russian Republic, democracy from destruction they saved

So now Gorbachev is back in power with Yeltsin's help

East and West greet each other and offer their hand

This handshake is more than the beginning of being friends

It's the beginning; all right the beginning of the cold war's end

And a beginning for the betterment of every woman and man

We have seen this before as the tanks rolled in for the kill

We remember Hungary in '56, the Prague in 1968 during that I'll fated spring

We saw the bear's cousin, the dragon of China

At Tiananmen Square they massacred the students, the pride of China

The moment of truth is at hand

Democracy in Russia, just got a new chance

Gorbachev, Yeltsin, the Baltic nations

Their people and the rest of the federation

Time to create in the Soviet land, hope for the future generations

Be it a dozen or so independent nations

Some or all in a loose or tight willing federation

Just remember to respect the will of the people

Allow each State-Nation to follow the course as determined by their people

Hardships were predicted, tempers will flare

Just don't be ruled by hopeless despair

The sun will shine brightly for all

But it will take time, patience and hard work from all

No one is promising a paradise

No one is promising instant wealth

No one is promising that there is no hell

No one can deny though that our fate is going to be better, as well

Heaven and hell, here and thereafter

Food for the body, hope for the soul

Heaven, if the improvements overwhelm

Heaven if the body can take the soul to say; thanks

Give everyone a chance to determine for themselves

The course to follow

The nation to build

 And let each nation be free to prosper without fear or guilt

And here we go again…the Crimean crisis is alive again.

Putin is driving the Troika, alone, with abandonment and condemn

Eugene Laszlo Hegedus