Turan Tales

<p>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.</p><p>For those of you with a Substack account, here is a Substack survey...

<p>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...

<p>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.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Turan...

<p>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.</p><p>While its rituals remain part of Central Asian...

<p>My guest today was born in 1991, the same year the Soviet Union collapsed.</p><p>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...

<p>Last Sunday, March 8th, Turan Tales celebrated turning one with its first live podcast and a community gathering in Almaty. </p><p>We sat down with Kazakh podcaster and feminist Aisulu Toyshibek to talk about women’s...

<p>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.</p>...

<p>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...

<p>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...

<p>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.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to...

<p>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...

<p>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...

<p>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...

<p>Welcome to the first episode of Turan Tales in 2026! </p><p>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...

<p>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...