Some members of the Society will recall the excellent talks Joanna Lillis gave to us by Zoom in February 2021 and September 2022 on Kazakhstan. We are delighted that Joanna has agreed to talk to us in person about her new book, Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan, which is to be published by Bloomsbury on 13 November 2025.
In Silk Mirage, Joanna Lillis explores Uzbekistan's politics, economics, history, arts and culture and asks where this fascinating and strategically located country in Central Asia now stands - nearly a decade after the death of its dictator, Islam Karimov, and 600 years since its ancient capital Samarkand was at the heart of the ancient Silk Road. It provides a compelling portrait of Uzbekistan, which is now the centre of a power struggle between reformers and reactionaries for the soul of the country.
AsJoanna Lillis has travelled deep into the heart of the Karimov regime. In her book she also reveals the challenges of dragging a country out of dictatorship and describes how far life has changed for the better (or not) for ordinary Uzbeks under Karimov’s successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
In conversation with Ibrat Safo, Joanna Lillis will tell us about some of the key themes she explores in her book and about the challenges she faced in writing it.
Joanna Lillis is a highly regarded investigative journalist and author writing about Central Asia who has lived and worked in the region since 2001, reporting on both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for the last two decades. Her reporting has featured in the Economist, Guardian, Independent, the Eurasianet website and Foreign Policy and POLITICO magazines. Joanna is also the author of the highly acclaimed Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan (2019).
Ibrat Safo is an Uzbekistan-born BBC journalist with extensive experience in producing and presenting radio and TV/video programmes on current affairs. He speaks fluent English, Russian and Uzbek, as well as some Turkish, and he has in-depth knowledge of Uzbekistan.
