Turan Tales

Tajikistan has emerged as a leading advocate for global water cooperation. Yet as the water crisis worsens across Central Asia and beyond, finding solutions has become increasingly urgent. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe

In the last interview before the summer break, we speak with Bagila Bukharbaeva, the author of The Vanishing Generation: Faith and Uprising in Modern Uzbekistan . We discuss Uzbekistan’s turn toward religion, unpack the events that led to the Andijan massacre, and examine whether religion has ever posed a genuine threat in the country. We also talk about Bagila’s own experience covering her commun...

This week, we discuss the craft of akyns and aitysh, their poetic duels. We look into the history of this art form, its historical functions, and how these have changed during the Soviet era and since the collapse of the USSR. We also examine the social significance of aitysh and the differences between traditional akyns and those who have turned to journalism. Joining us is Akylai Otkulbek kyzy,...

This week, we look at cannabis economy in Kyrgyzstan: how the harvesting began, who benefits from it, and how local authorities respond to the phenomenon. Is there any incentive in Kyrgyzstan to legalise the crop? Joining us is Gulzat Botoeva, Associate Professor of Criminology at Swansea University and an expert on illegal economies in Eurasia, including cannabis production in Kyrgyzstan. Get ful...

This week, we're joined by Mark Reese - translator of Abdulla Qodiriy's Bygone Days from Uzbek to English, academic and entrepreneur. We talk about the cultural and social significance of Bygone Days , the message it conveyed about the past, present, and future of the region, and the lessons we can draw from it today. We also discuss his early days as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uzbekistan, his lov...

This week, we’re diving into the fascinating history of Central Asian cinema and the ways Central Asia and Central Asians have been portrayed in foreign films. We’ll explore colonial tropes in portrayals of the region during Soviet times, how these representations influenced Central Asians’ self-image, and how they changed after the fall of the Soviet Union. We’ll also talk about different waves i...

In the 1940s, Tashkent became an unlikely centre of Yiddish culture as Eastern European Jews were evacuated to Soviet Central Asia during World War II. Yet the story has remained largely forgotten. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe

The word Turan , which appears in the title of this podcast, has Persian linguistic and literary origins -- something we’ll be talking about today. We’ll look at Persian influences in Central Asia, how the language spread across such faraway lands, why Persian culture became so fashionable, and how this influence eventually faded. Joining us is Ruben Nikoghosyan, a lecturer in Middle, Classical, a...

This week, we look at Russian wartime migration into Central Asia: how it unfolded, what motivated Russians to choose the region as their destination, how they rebuilt their lives there, and how this movement has reshaped Central Asia. Joining us is Yan Matusevich, a journalist and Ph. D. candidate in cultural anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His doctoral res...

This week, I would like to ask you a very big favour: please fill in a listeners’ survey about Turan Tales to help us improve. For those of you with a Substack account, here is a Substack survey: https://turantales.substack.com/publish/stats/surveys/6783588 For those who don’t have one, there's a Google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15cvn9Y3HIAbuDdvmyvnFWrNcgcrDNSYVhnn7aUg-zyE/edit As for...

In this episode, we look at the fall of Kyrgyzstan’s ruling duo: President Sadyr Japarov and security chief Kamchybek Tashiev. We discuss how they came to power, why their alliance may be breaking down, and what this tells us about power, patronage, and regional divides in Kyrgyzstan. We also ask who is mourning Tashiev’s fall. Joining us is Aksana Ismailbekova, a Kyrgyz anthropologist and researc...

As Russia’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law spreads across the region, queer spaces in Kazakhstan’s second-largest city are disappearing – and with them, the city’s creative pulse. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we focus on Tengrism, the ancient belief system of the Eurasian steppe that has faced centuries of change, from the rise of Islam to Soviet suppression. While its rituals remain part of Central Asian culture and are seeing renewed interest, it is still widely misunderstood. What exactly is Tengrism? And why did Kazakhstan refuse to register it as an official religion? Joining us is Abig...

My guest today was born in 1991, the same year the Soviet Union collapsed. A few years ago, he set out to explore what’s happened to the countries it left behind, and whether life beyond Russia’s shadow has brought the freedom and prosperity many hoped for. His name is Joe Luc Barnes, and you might recognise his voice from our audio documentaries. His new book, Farewell to Russia: A Journey Throug...

Last Sunday, March 8th, Turan Tales celebrated turning one with its first live podcast and a community gathering in Almaty. We sat down with Kazakh podcaster and feminist Aisulu Toyshibek to talk about women’s rights in Kazakhstan and how the situation has changed over the centuries and in the last few decades. Here is our talk. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe

This week we look at Kazakhstan’s new draft constitution and what it could mean for the country’s future. Our guest is Dmitriy Mazorenko, journalist and co-founder of the Superstructure research centre. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe

Over the past several years, Dushanbe has been on a path toward modernisation. New buildings, many of them Chinese-funded, have dotted the city’s landscape, dramatically transforming its traditional architecture. What has driven this wave of redevelopment? Will it help Tajikistan become the next AI hub in the region, as the authorities hope? And what does it all have to do with environmental degra...

This week, we're looking into the newly released 2026 Human Rights Watch report and how a shifting global order is reshaping human rights across Central Asia. We’re joined by Mihra Rittmann, Senior Central Asia Researcher at Human Rights Watch, to unpack key findings related to the region. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe

They promised world-class education to a region shattered by the Soviet collapse. Twenty years later, Hizmet schools fell prey to Turkey’s internal conflicts -- and their own secrecy. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we talk about carpets in Central Asia: their history, the differences between various carpet-weaving styles, the roles carpets played in different communities, and how the Soviet Union hijacked the practice of carpet making and transformed it to serve its own purposes. Joining us is Anushe Dust, a Tajik-born founder and editor-in-chief of RugMag magazine, where she uncovers the stories,...

This week, we’re taking a closer look at the Tajik-Afghan border. In the recent months, the area appeared in the media in the context of shootings and armed clashes that costed the lives of at least ten people, according to the AFP. What do recent incidents reveal about security along the Tajik–Afghan border? And how have the relations between Tajikistan and Afghanistan evolved? To answer these qu...

This week is about change - and the lack thereof. We will be looking at Uzbekistan: how the country was shaped during the post-Soviet period under the regime of Islam Karimov, and what has changed since Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power. How different is the “New Uzbekistan” from the Karimov era? Joining us is Joanna Lillis, a Kazakhstan-based journalist and the author of Silk Mirage: Through the L...

Welcome to the first episode of Turan Tales in 2026! We'll look at the fascinating story of oil and gas in Kazakhstan: the history of the industry, corruption scandals, the environmental damage it likely causes and much more. Joining us is Paolo Sorbello a journalist and researcher based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He is the English language editor at independent news outlet Vlast.kz where he also host...

Over the past few months, Central Asia has witnessed a series of significant developments in the art world, from the opening of the Almaty Museum of Arts, the largest modern art museum in the region, to the launch of the first-ever Bukhara Biennale. As new institutions, exhibitions, and art spaces continue to emerge across the region, a larger question arises: Can modern art flourish in Central As...

On November 30th, Kyrgyzstan went to the polls to elect a new parliament - the first since Sadyr Japarov became president in 2021 following a revolution just a few months earlier.  How exactly has Kyrgyzstan changed under Japarov, who has ruled in tandem with the powerful head of the security services, Kamchybek Tashiev? And what should we know about the latest election? To find out, I spoke to As...