Zheltoksan: Kazakhstan's Bloody December Revisited in History Today

This December's copy of History Today features an article, Kazakhstan's Bloody December, by Joanna Lillis, author of Dark Shadows:Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan, that looks back at 1986's Zheltoksan (December in Kazakh) demonstrations in what was then Alma-Ata (present-day Almaty) in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (now Kazakhstan).

The article takes an in-depth look at the events that shook the Soviet Union three decades ago. The anniversary of the demonstrations is on 16 December, which symbolically became Kazakhstan's independence day from the Soviet Union, which it left in 1991. To read more about this topic, dig into your copy of Dark Shadows.

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Dark Shadows US Tour Recap

Joanna Lillis, the author of the best-selling Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan , has completed her successful tour of the USA following the book's North American publication on 30 January. Dark Shadows arrives in the Big Apple! Here we publish links to videos of two events, so you can watch on catch-up if you missed them on the day. Joanna Lillis in conversation with Alex Cooley at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, New York Here’s a link to video of a Q and A with Alex Cooley about Dark Shadows at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in New York, where you can hear how the book came about and learn more about the diverse, from-the-ground reportage that it contains, if you missed the event on the day. Kazakhstan’s Quest for Identity at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University And here’s a link to the author’s presentation on Kazakhstan’s Quest for Identity at the Davis Cent

Dark Shadows Around the World

It's been just over six months since Joanna Lillis's Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan was published in the UK by I. B. Tauris, and in that time it has turned up in some surprising corners of the world. Dark Shadows spotted at Niagara Falls, Canadian side So far, it has made the short trip across the channel to make an appearance in the venerable Shakespeare and Co in Paris , crossed Hadrian's Wall to Scotland , winged its way by post to Mongolia , sailed across the expanse of the Atlantic to turn up in Niagara Falls in Canada and the Bronx , and even popped up in Mexico and the exotic Caribbean island of Curaçao. Dark Shadows on Curaçao island Who knows where this esteemed tome will end up next? Avid bookworms should keep on posting their pics of Dark Shadows on Twitter and tag in @joannalillis, or send them to us here at darkshadows@gmail.com. For any readers who have yet to get their hands on a copy, Bloomsbury is offering a 30% d

Dark Shadows: In the Press 5: Here Come the Reviews...

Check out the latest reviews of Dark Shadows in the international media! The book has recently been reviewed by two renowned historians, Peter Frankopan and Alexander Morrison, both of Oxford University. Dark Shadows meets The Silk Roads - Joanna Lillis meets Peter Frankopan in Oxford in November 2018 Writing in The Spectator , Peter Frankopan described Dark Shadows as “ astute, refreshing and revelatory”, and also “surprisingly tender, showing not only [Lillis’s] affection but her care in trying to make sense of a country that needs to be understood warts and all”. “She introduces a cast of characters one could not make up, from an Old Believer living in the north of the country to a militant atheist, whose grim convictions are not entirely appealing,” he continues. “We meet those suffering from the effects of Soviet-era nuclear experiments and children infected with HIV in a blood scandal, whose dignity in the face of injustice and tragedy is particularly moving. W

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