Turan Tales

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As for this week’s episode, we focus on a fascinating story of cryptocurrencies in Central Asia. Which countries--and why--have opened up to cryptocurrencies? Why is Kyrgyzstan building its own cryptocurrency? And can the crypto market help develop green energy?
Joining us is Hugo Estecahandy, a researcher with the Geopolitics of the Datasphere project and coordinator of the “Digital Materialities” working group at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).


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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 research fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), and the author of Blood Ties and the Native Son and Migration and Welfare Austerity (2017).


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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.


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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 Abigail Scripka, a doctoral candidate at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam, Germany, who studies Tengrism in Kazakhstan with a particular focus on the period of perestroika.



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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 Through the Former USSR, is out now in the UK and the US.


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