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Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan
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.
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.
328 pages, Hardcover
Published November 13, 2025
About the author
Joanna Lillis
2 books15 followersJoanna 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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 22, 2026
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."
"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."
November 15, 2025
💫 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!
❤️ 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!
April 19, 2026
Very informative, really good if you're travelling to Uzbekistan to get a sense of their current history.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews