Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan

by Joanna Lillis

Overview

Dark Shadows is a compelling portrait of Kazakhstan, a country that is little known in the West. Strategically located in the heart of Central Asia, sandwiched between Vladimir Putin's Russia, its former colonial ruler, and Xi Jinping's China, this vast oil-rich state is carving out its place in the world as it contends with its own complex past and present. Jourbanalist Joanna Lillis paints a vibrant picture of this emerging nation through vivid reportage based on 17 years of on-the-ground coverage, and travels across the length and breadth of this enigmatic country that lies along the ancient Silk Road and at the geopolitical and cultural crossroads where East meets West.

Featuring tales of murder and abduction, intrigue and betrayal, extortion and corruption, this book explores how a president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, transformed himself into a potentate and the economically-struggling state he inherited at the fall of the USSR into a swaggering 21st-century monocracy. A colourful cast of characters brings the politics to life: from strutting oligarchs to sleeping villagers, from principled politicians to striking oilmen, from crusading jourbanalists to courageous campaigners. This new edition features two additional chapters covering the aftermath of Nazarbayev's fall from power in 2019; the Chinese government's repressions against the Kazakhs of Xinjiang as part of its crackdown on Muslim minorities; and an Afterword reflecting on the tumultuous events of January 2022 in Almaty.

Traversing dust-blown deserts and majestic mountains, taking in glitzy cities and dystopian landscapes, Dark Shadows conjures up Kazakhstan as a living, breathing place, full of extraordinary people living extraordinary lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780755626694
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/19/2022
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	703,122
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.45(h) x 1.05(d)

About the Author

Joanna Lillis is a Kazakhstan-based jourbanalist reporting on Central Asia whose work has featured in the Guardian, The Economist and the Independent newspapers, the Eurasianet website and Foreign Policy and POLITICO magazines. Prior to settling in Kazakhstan in 2005, she worked for BBC Monitoring, the BBC World Service's global media tracking service. She studied Russian in the Soviet republics of Belorussia and Ukraine before the collapse of the USSR.

Table of Contents

Map of Kazakhstan x

Kazakhstan historical timeline xi

Note on transliteration and names xv

Introduction 1

I The Making of a Potentate

1 Arise, Kazakhstan 15

2 A Family Affair 26

3 Don't Mess With the Boss 39

4 Fault Lines in the Feel-Good Factor 51

5 Publish and Be Damned 63

6 Trials and Tribulations 73

7 Back to the USSR 77

8 Stop the Presses 85

9 Bread and Circuses 92

10 End of an Era 104

II Identity Crisis

11 Kingdom of the Kazakhs 123

12 Mother Russia 131

13 Death to the Past 143

14 The Gulag Archipelago 153

15 Exile of the Innocents 162

16 Sparks of Tension 170

17 December of Discontent 179

18 Lure of the Land 192

19 Homeward Bound 204

20 Behind the Red Wall 216

III Stories from the Steppe

21 Keeping the Faith 233

22 Opium of the People 240

23 Culture Wars 248

24 The Curse of Corruption 253

25 The Shrinking Sea 261

26 Ihe Wasteland 270

27 The Ranch 281

28 The Slumbering Steppe 285

29 The Collective Farm 291

Afterword: The Endgame 297

Notes 301

Bibliography 337

Acknowledgements 339

Index 343

Editorial Reviews

Lillis traveled widely across the country, carried out an impressive number of interviews, and followed several key events… She also closely explored the stories and experiences of numerous [people]... Her work demonstrates that [Kazakhstan] has become more secretive, authoritative, and oppressive.” —CHOICE

“Astute, refreshing and revelatory; it is also surprisingly tender, showing not only her affection but her care in trying to make sense of a country that needs to be understood warts and all ... It is not easy to look beneath the surface and make sense of a country of such contrasts and complexities, especially one that is in transition. You don't need a book about Kazakhstan to realise that the world is changing; but reading Dark Shadows is a great place to start for anyone wanting to see how and why Central Asia matters in the 21st century.” —The Spectator

“This is a fine book, beautifully written and with just the right blend of affection and censure. Lillis has rendered a great public service by dispelling some of the myths and caricatures that have gathered around Kazakhstan, which remains one of the world's least well-understood countries.” —Eurasianet

“Through in-depth interviews and good access to a range of Kazakh public figures, the book presents a powerful tale of injustice, corruption and fear ... An interesting and comprehensive addition to scholarship on Eurasia and post-Soviet and Central Asian studies at a time of renewed interest in the region at the crossroads between China and Russia.” —Europe-Asia Studies

From the Publisher