Turan Tales

Aqylbek Muratbai, 36, has never committed a crime. But in mid-February this year, he left his jail cell in a suburb of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s former capital, after a year in detention. The city had not changed during this year of absence, Muratbai says, though the village where his parents now live has gained internet access. But in a way, the world has undergone a paradigm shift. In late January, t...

This week we are looking at Trump administration's attempt to defund Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Then we are joined by Dilmira Matyakubova to talk about reputation laundering: how authoritarian states manipulate international public opinion and whitewash their crimes with the help of global organisations, academic and media Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe

This week we’re looking at last year’s failed assassination attempt on Komil Allamjanov and together with my guest - Alisher Ilkhamov - we will try to answer the question of why someone wanted him dead -- and who this someone might be. We delve into the Chechen - and Russian - connection of the killing attempt and the possible bigger story behind these links. Finally, we will try to answer a very...

[LONG READ] While the Soviet nuclear test site in Kazakhstan has long been closed, the effects of radiation on people's health are felt to this day -- and still wait to be researched. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe

Hello and welcome to Turan Tales! I’m thrilled to share with you the first episode of my bi-weekly podcast delving into underreported stories of people, politics and social change in Central Asia. In this episode I explain what Turan Tales is, where the idea came from and what I hope to achieve with this newsletter. I am then joined by Peter Leonard, a fellow journalist focusing on Central Asia, t...