Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan

by Joanna Lillis

Silk Mirage is a compelling portrait of Uzbekistan, a country at the heart of the ancient Silk Road and now the centre of a power struggle between reformers and reactionaries for the soul of this strategic land in Central Asia.

In 2016, the long-ruling dictator Islam Karimov – one of the last Soviet-era strongmen – died, sparking a period of transformation under his successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which became known as the 'Uzbek Spring'. But, as investigative journalist Joanna Lillis shows, spring has struggled to break through in one of the world's most repressive and totalitarian states. As one of the few western journalists with access to Uzbekistan and with over two decades of experience covering the country, Lillis travels deep into the heart of the Karimov regime, portraying all the excesses and atrocities that made it such a brutal dictatorship. She also penetrates the system that replaced it, exploring how life has changed for Uzbeks under Mirziyoyev's rule – and how it has not. A tale of both reform and repression, this book illustrates the challenges of dragging a country out of dictatorship.

Lillis explores Uzbekistan's politics, economics, history, arts and culture – and asks where the country stands nearly a decade after the death of its dictator, and 600 years since its ancient capital Samarkand was the centre of the world's trade network. Lillis weaves in the extraordinary stories of ordinary from politicians to former political prisoners, from journalists to human rights crusaders, from entrepreneurs to environmentalists, from artists to architects, from silk makers to carpet weavers.

Conjuring up Uzbekistan as a place full of life and loss, Silk Mirage tells the stories of courageous people who probe to find the cracks in an authoritarian regime through which the light gets in.

Genres: Politics

328 pages, Hardcover

Published November 13, 2025

About the author

Joanna Lillis is a freelance journalist who has been based in Central Asia since 2001 and in Kazakhstan since 2005. Joanna Lillis writes for EurasiaNet.org.

Reviews

[Dolf van der Haven · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a couple of chapters to realise that I had already read this book, albeit under a different title: "Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan." It turns out the author is the same and much of the content is very similar as well. It is not only that the stories of these neighbouring countries are very similar (Soviet rule, followed by a dictatorship, followed by uneasy thaw), the writing has the same style and issues as well. I can therefore just copy my review from the other book, make the necessary edits and be done:
"There has not much been written about Uzbekistan, so any book is an achievement. I just had different expectations from this book.
Essentially it is a set of journalistic stories stapled together, ranging from the expected tales of totalitarian repression, some chapters with a slightly more historical perspective, and a larger number of individual stories. Some are really interesting (the more art-oriented stories in the last section), others dull and often with repetitive facts.
What is missing is history, context and narrative: we learn nothing about the general history, geography, culture or even of its long-time dictator, Karimov (who fortunately stepped down and was succeeded by a somewhat more reform oriented leader). This is the difference between journalism and history. I was clearly expecting a more coherent book and an actual narrative. Instead I read a series of stories that may actually have been published in various newspapers before.
Still interesting, but the book would have been better if historical context and an overall narrative has been provided."

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lillis looks at the transition of Uzbekistan from the rule of Islam Karimov to Shavkat Mirziyoyev and how that has changed the country since the formers death in 2016. Through a series of articles collected into chapters that cover Uzbek society, politics, and history, she shows that despite the promises of Mirziyoyev to liberalize the country and make it more free than it was under Karimov, that has not really come to pass, and instead the "New Uzbekistan" is really much of the same, albeit with a better international image; for most Uzbeks there has been no real change, nor does that seem likely anytime soon. The book doe dive right into the story, so it can be confusing if the reader doesn't at least have a basic understanding of Uzbek history or politics, but Lillis does try and make that clear for those who aren't well-versed. Overall a good look at the way things are in the Mirziyovev era of Uzbekistan, and how things are progressing, which is to say not much.

[Doug Hales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many folks, I nabbed this book because it is one of (if not the only) book in English that purports to be a history of Uzbekistan. What it is, though, is more like a series of articles about very specific snippets of Uzbek society. We learn plenty about the artists and dissidents, the Karakalpaks, and the two dictators who have collectively held power ever since the USSR dissolved.

What we don't get is anything like a cohesive narrative. If there's a story arc at all, it's that the second dictator is kinda-sorta better than the first, but not really. We get scraps of overarching history here and there, but only where it serves to offer context about the (again, very specific) topic at hand for each chapter.

In a way, I guess I can say I know more about the overall history of Uzbekistan than I did when I bought the book — just not the way I was hoping to.

[Katie Putz · Rating 5 out of 5]

💫 It’s impossible to discuss today’s Uzbekistan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s “New Uzbekistan,” without making a comparisons to the old Uzbekistan, the country Islam Karimov built. The stories of these two Uzbekistans – and the country’s two leaders since its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 – are woven together beautifully in Joanna Lillis’s new book.

❤️ I loved this while book, naturally , but I especially loved seeing Sulaymon Inoyatov appear. I met Sulaymon in 2019, when I visited with another relative from the Fayzulla Khodjaev family, my dear friend Timur Kocaoglu, to do a story on Timur's father's house and the Jadids. Sulaymon passed away last year, but I will always cherish what wonderful hosts he and his family were.

👥 For anyone interested in Uzbekistan (new to the region or deeply steeped), I could not recommend a better book.

📍 Read bopping around town, including when the Uzbek president was in town!

[Raquel Mariani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, really good if you're travelling to Uzbekistan to get a sense of their current history.

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed- interesting country!