Pushkin House and the Great Britain-Russia Society invite you to an evening discussion with Joanna Lillis about Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan. Her new book 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. In conversation with Ibrat Safo, Lillis will tell us about some of the key themes she explores in her book – and about the challenges she faced in writing it. 

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 – 600 years since its ancient capital Samarkand was at the heart of the ancient Silk Road, and nearly a decade after the death of its dictator, Islam Karimov. 

As one of the few Western journalists with access to Uzbekistan, Joanna 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. 

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.

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