Reviewed by Clare Brook
While completing a BA in Modern Languages at the University of Leeds, Joanna Lillis studied Russian, before the collapse of the USSR, in the Soviet republics of Belorussia and Ukraine. Lillis also has an MA in Translation and Interpreting from the University of Bradford. Her career has been spent in Central Asia since 2001: Uzbekistan (2001-2005) and Kazakhstan (since 2005). Before her time in Central Asia, Lillis lived in Russia working for BBC Monitoring, the BBC World Service’s global media tracking service. She is the author of Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan (2019). Silk Mirage is a portrait of Uzbekistan, a country struggling to project an image of reform.
It is clear from the above that Lillis is well qualified to report on the politics and social life of Uzbekistan. In Silk Mirage she has provided readers with an uncompromising view of Uzbekistan, firstly under the despotic rule of the Karimov era from 1989 to 2016, and his more progressive successor Mirziyoyev.
An outline of the Karimov era includes his early years. Interestingly, from an early age Karimov’s hero was Amir Temur, a fourteenth-century conqueror known as Tamerlane, who ruled from Samarkand where Karimov was born. It seems the bloodthirsty and brutal tyrant Tamerlane provided Karimov with a role model. Born in 1938 in the era of Stalin’s Great Terror, Karimov was of course a product of the Soviet system, becoming Mikhail Gorbachev’s First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Uzbek Communist Party, his position evolved in 1990 to president of Uzbekistan under the rule of Moscow. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 positioned Karimov as president of a sovereign state. Lillis details how brutal repression of every aspect of Uzbekistan life marked the Karimov rule: complete suppression of the media, intolerance of Islam and a total disregard of human rights for the citizens of Uzbekistan. Lillis details the 2005 massacre in Andijan, forced labour in the cotton industry, and the demise of the Aral Sea. Upon Karimov’s death is 2016 Shavkat Mirziyoyev became the leader of Uzbekistan.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev had been Karimov’s loyal prime minister for the previous fourteen years, so it was assumed that it would be business as usual, that is to say, another repressive regime. However, Mirziyoyev promised this would be a new era. The New Uzbekistan of Mirziyoyev began joyously with hopes of moving toward democratic rule. A parliament was established with younger, and more importantly, accountable deputies. Economic reforms have resulted in corruption and black-market profiteering being replace with state controls encouraging business interests and foreign investors, and there have been improvements concerning forced labour in the cotton industry. Mirziyoyev made much of the fact that the media was now free to report the truth. Nevertheless, political opposition remains minimal and the media are not as free as previously announced. Holding Uzbekistan back from real change is the influence of Russia, still closely allied under Mirziyoyev’s rule.
Most interestingly Lillis portrays stories from the general population, such as Dildora Atadjanova an entrepreneur helping farmers sell their crops, and a former political prisoner, Agzam Turgunov, who helps political prisoners re-establish their lives.
The last chapter ‘The Dream Weavers’ discusses the silk trade, a quintessential part of Uzbekistan cultural heritage. Ancient skills in weaving silk have been given new life by fashion designers so giving Uzbekistan a dynamic global image despite what might be happening behind the scenes.
Lillis clearly believes in the people of Uzbekistan. … it is the people of Uzbekistan, with their dedication, talent and resilience, who are the real drivers of the country’s dynamism and creativity. …. from politics, business and civil society to journalism, architecture and the arts.
Silk Mirage is a most interesting account of a little-known area of Central Asia. Joanna Lillis gives voice to a people untiringly working to improve their country, regardless of the circumstances.
by Joanna Lillis
(2025)
Bloomsbury
Hardback
ISBN: 978 1 3502 9247 5
$28.79; 328pp