{"product_id":"dark-shadows-inside-the-secret-world-of-kazakhstan-9780755626694","title":"Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDark Shadows\u003c\/i\u003e is a compelling portrait of Kazakhstan, a country that is little known in the West. Strategically located in the heart of Central Asia, sandwiched between Vladimir Putin's Russia, its former colonial ruler, and Xi Jinping's China, this vast oil-rich state is carving out its place in the world as it contends with its own complex past and present. Journalist Joanna Lillis paints a vibrant picture of this emerging nation through vivid reportage based on 17 years of on-the-ground coverage, and travels across the length and breadth of this enigmatic country that lies along the ancient Silk Road and at the geopolitical and cultural crossroads where East meets West. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFeaturing tales of murder and abduction, intrigue and betrayal, extortion and corruption, this book explores how a president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, transformed himself into a potentate and the economically-struggling state he inherited at the fall of the USSR into a swaggering 21st-century monocracy. A colourful cast of characters brings the politics to life: from strutting oligarchs to sleeping villagers, from principled politicians to striking oilmen, from crusading journalists to courageous campaigners. This new edition features two additional chapters covering the aftermath of Nazarbayev's fall from power in 2019; the Chinese government's repressions against the Kazakhs of Xinjiang as part of its crackdown on Muslim minorities; and an Afterword reflecting on the tumultuous events of January 2022 in Almaty. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTraversing dust-blown deserts and majestic mountains, taking in glitzy cities and dystopian landscapes, \u003ci\u003eDark Shadows \u003c\/i\u003econjures up Kazakhstan as a living, breathing place, full of extraordinary people living extraordinary lives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoanna Lillis\u003c\/b\u003e is a Kazakhstan-based journalist reporting on Central Asia whose work has featured in \u003ci\u003ethe Guardian, The Economist\u003c\/i\u003e and the\u003ci\u003e Independent\u003c\/i\u003e newspapers, \u003ci\u003ethe Eurasianet\u003c\/i\u003e website and \u003ci\u003eForeign Policy\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePOLITICO \u003c\/i\u003emagazines. Prior to settling in Kazakhstan in 2005, she worked for BBC Monitoring, the BBC World Service's global media tracking service. She studied Russian in the Soviet republics of Belorussia and Ukraine before the collapse of the USSR.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50901212070162,"sku":"9780755626694","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a744661c-ab58-4d8d-aa76-5e51a6472a62.jpg?v=1738416713","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/dark-shadows-inside-the-secret-world-of-kazakhstan-9780755626694","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}