Join Harvard's Davis Center for a talk on contemporary issues in Kazakhstan, based on Joanna Lillis' new book, "Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan." Since independence, Kazakhstan has undergone a dramatic transformation of its demographic landscape, as Kazakhs, a minority at independence, have become a majority – but the challenge of forging a common identity and a sense of patriotism remains a priority to which the government devotes significant attention and resources. How successful has Nazarbayev been in forging a “Kazakhstani” identity, and how far do his people support the identity assigned to them by Astana? Is Kazakh nationalism on the rise, and does it present a threat? How does the ethnic Russian minority perceive its role in modern-day Kazakhstan, and where do its loyalties lie? Questions such as these and more will be addressed during the talk.

Speaker:

Joanna Lillis, journalist