Joanna Lillis
@joannalillis
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Almaty-based journalist covering Central Asia for @TheEconomist , @EurasiaNet . Author of Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Joined June 2010
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Pinned Tweet
Out now!
#DarkShadows
in updated paperback! Watch the reel to find out what's new! And buy the book in UK bookshops or order online from
@BloomsburyBooks
@BloomsburyPol
@BloomsburyAcad
or Amazon
@ibtauris
#Kazakhstan
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Lenin decked out in blue and yellow at anti-war rally in Almaty
#Kazakhstan
- "no to bloody dictators" reads the placard
#Russia
#Ukraine
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Denied entry to
#Kazakhstan
at land border near Bishkek. No entry to foreigners at land borders, not even journalists - though I've often crossed this border when it's closed in the past. Devastated I can't get back home to Almaty to report on its terrible traumas from the ground
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Around 3,000 people turn out for anti-war rally in Almaty- far bigger than any previous sanctioned rallies in
#Kazakhstan
- and a real cross-section of people - young and old, hipsters and babushky, Kazakhs, Russians, Ukrainians, Koreans + more
#Ukraine
#Russia
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On my way to Nukus to find out what is happening in
#Karakalpakstan
amid unrest, which is the largest-scale turmoil in
#Uzbekistan
since Andijan in 2005. One month state of emergency imposed in the region, which Mirziyoyev yesterday visited and offered concessions
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Delighted to hear that I am now accredited as
@TheEconomist
correspondent in
#Uzbekistan
! Great news, a sign of openness to foreign media, and I look forward to fruitful reporting. With grateful thanks to
@UzMFA
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Protesters in
#Kazakhstan
are now voicing political demands, but how did all this start? Read our
@eurasianet
explainer on why fuel prices rocketed in western
#Kazakhstan
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Total news blackout from
#Kazakhstan
today, all comms with outside world shut down. My flight to Almaty cancelled today. Just received sms from authorities 'antiterrorist operation in Almaty. Stay in a safe place'. Alarming what might be happening there under shroud of secrecy
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Delighted to receive my press accreditation to report from
#Uzbekistan
for
@TheEconomist
from
@UzMFA
today. The last time I was accredited in Uzbekistan was 2005 - this is a sign of changing times!
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Nukus is calm but tense. I've seen no protests today, very heavy security force presence, the area around the government and parliament buildings is surrounded by security forces and armoured vehicles and locked down
#Karakalpakstan
#Uzbekistan
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Internet blocked in Almaty as protests continue. Authorities are blocking Internet and messengers wherever protests are happening, which is pretty much all over
#Kazakhstan
right now
⚡️ Фиксируем полное отключение интернета в Алма-Ате, Казахстан.
Интернет отключили около 30 минут назад.
В том числе не работает интернет у проводных операторов.
Там проходят протесты против повышения цен на газ.
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As Crimean Tatars mark the 80th anniversary of their 1944
#deportation
, check out my interview with Mustafa Dzhemilev on
@eurasianet
. Deported to
#Uzbekistan
as a baby, he spent 11 years in the Gulag - in 2014
#Russia
annexed
#Crimea
and barred him again
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Tokayev says he'll hold onto power, but his grip on it is looking shaky. My piece for
@TheEconomist
on the protests roiling
#Kazakhstan
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Grieving for the dead, hoping for the recovery of the injured, looking for the missing - my report for
@eurasianet
from the traumatised city of Nukus on the aftershocks from two days + nights of violence that has left
#Karakalpakstan
reeling
#Uzbekistan
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No beating - not even of (Margarita) Simonyan (head of Russia Today propaganda machine) - placard at 8 March rally in Almaty
#Kazakhstan
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Woman handing out sadaqa, food eaten when remembering the dead, at memorial for the dead on Republic Square in Almaty
#Kazakhstan
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#Uzbekistan
is
@TheEconomist
country of the year for 2019 - 'Uzbekistan still has a long way to go, but no other country travelled as far in 2019'
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The private jet that brought the UK foreign secretary to
#CentralAsia
on his tour last week cost £42 million. He announced a mere £50 million in development funds over five countries during the visit
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#Uzbekistan
has come out and said it recognises 'territorial integrity' of
#Ukraine
and does not recognise Luhansk and Donetsk republics, recognised by
#Russia
.
#Kazakhstan
has stated same position. The two key
#CentralAsia
states and allies of
#Russia
don't support its position
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Nazarbayev clan emerging as the loser amid what looks like vicious elite infighting in turmoil-hit
#Kazakhstan
- my take for
@eurasianet
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There used to be 20,000 Bukharan Jews in Bukhara, now there are about 100. Is the ancient community doomed to extinction? My report for
@TheEconomist
#Uzbekistan
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I'm shocked by lack of media interest in
#Karakalpakstan
trial. Haven't seen a single other journalist - Uzbek or foreign - over 3 days in court. No diplomats or international organisations have visited to monitor this important trial either. Disappointing
#Uzbekistan
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#Kazakhstan
, a close ally of
#Russia
, says question of recognising Donetsk and Luhansk not on its agenda because 'we proceed from the basis of international law and the UN charter'
#Ukraine
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Tragic human toll: death toll of 24 on Kyrgyz side likely to rise, a 15-year-old Kyrgyz girl among the dead, Tajiks silent about casualties, at least 120,000 displaced -
@eurasianet
reports on the fighting on the border between
#Kyrgyzstan
and
#Tajikistan
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Official figure shows 57 arrests in Almaty and Nur-Sultan at anti-
#China
protests but this was published a while ago while arrests were still going on. Final figure must be higher. I saw about 30 in Almaty. All quiet now
#Kazakhstan
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'The war has set nerves jangling across Central Asia. The "Stans"... are allies of Russia. But the aggressive expansionism of their former colonial master is testing that friendship to the limit' My piece for
@TheEconomist
on reactions to war in
#Ukraine
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Back online after several days in
#Karakalpakstan
without Internet. If you're interested in what's going on there - and you should be - you can read my story coming out on
@eurasianet
later today
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My book on
#Kazakhstan
is out in October - start saving!
@joannalillis
has written some sort of book about corruption and tomfoolery in Kazakhstan. Better buy it I suppose
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#Kazakhstan
banks have opened 12,000 sanctions-busting accounts for citizens of
#Russia
and
#Belarus
since invasion of
#Ukraine
- my piece for
@eurasianet
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Names of those killed pasted onto monument to independence on Republic Square in Almaty at memorial for the dead
#Kazakhstan
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A diplomatic source in
#Kazakhstan
says no such request was made by
#Russia
Kazakhstan, one of Russia's closest allies and a southern neighbor, is denying a request for its troops to join the offensive in Ukraine, officials say.
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“Yesterday
#Georgia
, today
#Ukraine
, tomorrow
#Kazakhstan
?” - my reporting from anti-war rally in
#Kazakhstan
+
@aizirekstan
reporting on a pro-
#Russia
gathering in
#Kyrgyzstan
in this piece from
@eurasianet
looking at reactions to the war in
#CentralAsia
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Heading for Bukhara to cover the trial of 22 Karakalpaks accused over fatal violence in
#Karakalpakstan
in July. Important to have eyes on this trial, which should be getting more attention
#Uzbekistan
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Linguist, spook, well-connected banker, political heavyweight and.... boogieman - the life and times of Karim Masimov, arrested today on treason charges in
#Kazakhstan
- my piece for
@eurasianet
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Almaty, with its beautful
#mountains
and horrible smog, as seen from
@airastana
.
#Kazakhstan
#pollution
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Sirens going off in Almaty as authorities test civil defence systems in timing that doesn't look like a coincidence
#Kazakhstan
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Hundreds arrested as Kazakhs protest against 'rigged' election - my piece for
@guardian
on today's election and protests in
#Kazakhstan
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And I'm not an outside journalist of course! I have lived in Kazakhstan for 17 years and only left for a few days at new year - now stuck outside!
Some complaints today from
@MFA_KZ
about false info in some Western press, probably fair. But not that surprising when outside journalists can't get in and locals have internet / phone coverage switched off for long periods of time. Let's hope for more openness in coming week.
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Must-read report on how the army did fire on peaceful protesters on 6 Jan, eyewitnesses say, despite
@TokayevKZ
denials - by
@ChrisRickleton
@mldbkvd
for
@eurasianet
. I've spoken to eyewitness whose account tallies exactly with these accounts
#Kazakhstan
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Farewell
#Nazarbayev
, who just resigned after 30 years in power in
#Kazakhstan
. Read my book
#DarkShadows
, the definitive book on the Nazarbayev era
@ibtauris
@BloomsburyAcad
@BloomsburyBooks
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Thanks to all who expressed concern over my brief detention while reporting in
#Karakalpakstan
. And thanks to
@uzbekmfa
for subsequently stepping in and facilitating interviews and opportunities to film and photograph in Nukus.
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Just remembered that it's exactly 20 years since my first ever visit to Almaty, now my adopted home! Thank you for a lot of great times,
#Kazakhstan
!
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#Uzbekistan
makes statement on turbulence in
#Kazakhstan
hoping it can resolve crisis самостоятельно - independently. That's the key word - regional leaders must be alarmed about possible meddling from the north...
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More bad news for
#CentralAsia
as
@WorldBank
forecasts plunge for migrant remittances from
#Russia
-
#Kyrgyzstan
and
#Tajikistan
will be especially hard hit but
#Uzbekistan
will also feel the pinch. My piece for
@eurasianet
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@MFA_KZ
I've been an accredited journalist in
#Kazakhstan
since 2006 and I've been refused entry. Please allow accredited journalists in. Your staff are not answering my calls
@CPJ_Eurasia
@gulnozas
@hrw
@MihraRittmann
@HughAWilliamson
@kennethroth
@amnesty
@Article19
@RSF_EECA
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Election day paranoia in
#Kazakhstan
- police tried to stop me going to Republic Square after 5 people protested there. Big police presence and a bus waiting to take away protesters just in case. Very Old Kazakhstan
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My new book on
#Kazakhstan
, Dark Shadows, goes to press today. Out on October 30th with
@ibtauris
, pre-order available on Amazon. Thanks to
@peterpomeranzev
for endorsement! Launch in London to be announced soon - watch this space!
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26 protesters killed and more than 3,000 arrested in Almaty, interior ministry says, as protests continue
#Kazakhstan
v
@orda_kz
on Telegram
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Aeroflot stopping flights to
#Kazakhstan
today
Российская авиакомпания приостанавливает выполнение всех регулярных рейсов в Казахстан с 00:00 часов 8 марта 2022 года по московскому времени.
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Shot, tortured, denied legal advice and medical treatment, charged with a crime and facing prison time - how are the wheels of justice turning in
#Kazakhstan
after the Bloody January unrest? My long read for
@eurasianet
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Russia in the grip of collective hysteria. Terrifying.
Gennady Zyuganov, head of the communist party, announces today that Ukraine, Georgia and Kazakhstan have set up American operated labs on the border to blow harmful bacteria into Russia. These are increasingly dystopian and fantastical comments from RU. They are really psychotic.
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My take for
@TheEconomist
on
#Nazarbayev
's resignation after three decades at the helm of
#Kazakhstan
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Headed for Kazakh-Kyrgyz border this morning and hoping my press card will get me across the still closed frontier post. It worked in 2010... fingers crossed.
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"Tokayev is throwing away Kazakhstan’s sovereignty by asking for Russians to intervene,”
@jmurtazashvili
tells
@TheEconomist
- our report on crisis in
#Kazakhstan
, out on the shelves today and updated online
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Please tune in to
@hrw
Twitter Space event on
#Kazakhstan
, with
@astroehlein
@HughAWilliamson
@j_pedneault
and me talking about the unrest and its aftermath from the point of view of human rights - 1700 Almaty time/1200 CET/1100 UK time
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Good time to read my book on
#Kazakhstan
#DarkShadows
. Thanks for buying, Josh!
I just ordered
@joannalillis
’s book and now Amazon only has 1 left in stock, but more on the way.
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Distressing scenes outside Chinese consulate in Almaty
#Kazakhstan
as relatives come for 100th day to demand information about missing and detained relatives in
#Xinjiang
#China
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Xi appears to issue shot across the bows to
#Russia
ahead of Putin meeting, as visits
#Kazakhstan
and warns against encroachments on sovereignty and territorial integrity - which realistically can only come from
#Russia
. My piece for
@eurasianet
#China
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Long queues reported on border between
#Kazakhstan
and
#Russia
as people flee Putin's mobilisation order
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#Kazakhstan
says traffic time on Middle Corridor - route from
#China
to
#Europe
that bypasses
#Russia
- will be down from 38–53 days to 14–18 days by year-end and transit time across
#Kazakhstan
down from 12 to 5 days, due to work to cut bottlenecks
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Signed off on proofs of
#DarkShadows
paperback! 2 new chapters covering Nazarbayev resignation,
#Xinjiang
Kazakhs + afterword on January's violent unrest. Pre-order here: snap it up if interested in
#Kazakhstan
!
@ibtauris
@BloomsburyAcad
@BloomsburyBooks
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#Kazakhstan
capital set to get old name back in 'another blow to the now-heavily tarnished cult of devotion to the former president, Nursultan Nazarbayev' -
@eurasianet
on renaming Nur-Sultan back to Astana
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Rare good news in a world full of horror: both
@ilo
+
@UzbekForum
have found the cotton harvest in
#Uzbekistan
last autumn to be free of systematic forced labour, in newly-released findings - my piece for
@eurasianet
quoting
@AstrupILO
@UmidaNiyazova
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A glimpse through the looking glass into who's in who's out in the murky world of politics in Nur-Sultan amid challenge to existence of the regime - my take for
@eurasianet
. For more read
#DarkShadows
, selling out fast, out in paperback soon!
#Kazakhstan
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Prayers for the dead at today's memorial for the dead on Republic Square - around 350 people turned out, police keeping their distance, no arrests so far
#Kazakhstan
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The price
#Kazakhstan
will pay for inviting Russian troops in. This is just the start
Head of Russian space agency Dmitry Rogozin says Kazakhstan's new Information Minister will not be permitted to enter Baikonur cosmodrome (because of his history of supposed anti-Russian views)
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Tokayev calls conflict in
#Ukraine
a "full-scale war" - not a description
#Russia
accepts - in a speech in which he twice spoke of the importance of safeguarding
#Kazakhstan
's territorial integrity
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Two weeks after deadly violence in
#Karakalpakstan
, it remains cut off from the Internet.
#Uzbekistan
media virtually ignoring this. Posting these photos of relatives seeking news of detained and missing from 4 July as reminder that the voices of the Karakalpaks should be heard
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Tokayev: need to move away from
#Kazakhstan
's 'super-presidential model', he'll quit as ruling party leader, ban local officials from ruling party positions, ban president's relatives from political positions, criticises 'monopoly in politics'. KZ has no opposition parties though
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Erdogan says intelligence agents abducted
#OrhanInandi
, a Turkish-Kyrgyz citizen, from
#Kyrgyzstan
and took him to
#Turkey
'to face justice'. Wonder what Bishkek has to say about the illegal abduction of a Kyrgyz citizen and violation of its sovereignty?
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The death of poet and until recently political prisoner Aron Atabek is a terrible stain on
#Kazakhstan
's already blighted human rights record. My piece for
@eurasianet
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I've been charged for many odd things in restaurants in
#CentralAsia
- but ice cubes?! Rahmat,
#Uzbekistan
!
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Reality check for breathless tweeters in awe of
#Uzbekistan
for belated coming off fence (a little) over
#Ukraine
. UZ adopted same position
#Kazakhstan
did from outset. Tokayev is only
#CentralAsia
president to speak to Zelenskiy. KZ allowed anti-war protest - not seen that in UZ
#Uzbekistan
has come out and said it recognises 'territorial integrity' of
#Ukraine
and does not recognise Luhansk and Donetsk republics, recognised by
#Russia
.
#Kazakhstan
has stated same position. The two key
#CentralAsia
states and allies of
#Russia
don't support its position
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Scenes from Nukus after last week's fatal unrest. With Karakalpakstan still cut off from the Internet, we have virtually no idea what is going on there. I took these photos between 3 and 5 July. Read my
@eurasianet
story to learn more
#Uzbekistan
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Just finished this by
@Billbrowder
. Valuable for exposing not only a horrific murder + shocking corruption carried out with impunity in Russia but also rotten nature of post-Soviet (in)justice systems in most countries in former USSR, which urgently require root-and-branch reform
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My piece in
@TheEconomist
on an overhaul of the cotton sector in
#Uzbekistan
. My first ever Uchkorgon dateline - and probably my last!
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I personally think that comment is very flattering - maybe
@FT
should have asked some of the people who have been jailed under his rule?
FT article pulls no punches, but we like the comment "Mr Nazarbayev has been a relatively enlightened authoritarian." See :
#Kazakhstan
has entered the post-Nazarbayev transition
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The walking wounded - these men were shot in Almaty during January unrest then taken from their hospital beds to be tortured in police cells and are now facing criminal charges
#Kazakhstan
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Nauseating to see politicians who loyally served the Nazarbayev regime for decades falling over themselves to call for 'deoligarchisation'. Azat Peruashev famously wept when Nazarbayev resigned. Now he's weeping about how that regime robbed the people.
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