Was Johnny Appleseed a Kyrgyzi?

Previously unknown bit of random trivia: the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan is “home to the genetic parent of all the apples of the planet.”  But that evidently has not been enough to keep the country well-off enough to turn down a $300 million bribe loan from Russia to close down an important U.S. base in the country.

Apples for a base?

(image from flickr user Don-Piefcone under a Creative Commons license)