Agnieszka Pikulicka
@aga-pik.bsky.social
Journalist focusing on Eastern Europe & Central Asia | Founder of Turan Tales | Author of "Nowy Uzbekistan" (in PL) | Words: Reuters, AJE, AP, the Guardian, FP
Don't miss the latest Turan Tales with @aga-pik.bsky.social . Definitely interesting. 👇
Agnieszka Pikulicka@aga-pik.bsky.social · 3mo agoWhat does cinema can tell us about Central Asia? Listen to the new episode of Turan Tales with the amazing Assiya Issemberdiyeva, a Kazakh film critic and PhD candidate at Queen Mary University of London turantales.substack.com/p/episode-39...
What does cinema can tell us about Central Asia? Listen to the new episode of Turan Tales with the amazing Assiya Issemberdiyeva, a Kazakh film critic and PhD candidate at Queen Mary University of London turantales.substack.com/p/episode-39...
Episode 39: What cinema can tell us about Central Asia
TURAN TALK with Assiya Issemberdiyeva, a Kazakh film critic and PhD candidate at Queen Mary University of London
turantales.substack.com
In the 1940s, Tashkent became an unlikely centre of Yiddish culture as Eastern European Jews were evacuated to Soviet Central Asia during World War II. Yet the story has remained largely forgotten. Listen to (or read) our new story: turantales.substack.com/p/iyas-lifel...
Iya’s lifelines: A Jewish journey to survival in Central Asia
In the 1940s, Tashkent became an unlikely centre of Yiddish culture as Eastern European Jews were evacuated to Soviet Central Asia during World War II. Yet the story has remained largely forgotten.
turantales.substack.com
This was the most interesting Turan Tales podcast that I have heard so far. Thank you @aga-pik.bsky.social
Agnieszka Pikulicka@aga-pik.bsky.social · 3mo agoThis week on Turan Tales, we look at Persian influences in Central Asia, why Persian culture became so fashionable, and how this influence faded. Joining us is Ruben Nikoghosyan, a lecturer in Middle, Classical, and Modern Persian language and literature turantales.substack.com/p/episode-38...
This week on Turan Tales, we look at Persian influences in Central Asia, why Persian culture became so fashionable, and how this influence faded. Joining us is Ruben Nikoghosyan, a lecturer in Middle, Classical, and Modern Persian language and literature turantales.substack.com/p/episode-38...
Episode 38: Inside Turan. The Persian legacy in Central Asia
TURAN TALK with Ruben Nikoghosyan, a lecturer in Middle, Classical, and Modern Persian language and literature
turantales.substack.com
Thank you to @aga-pik.bsky.social for having me on her wonderful Turan Tales podcast to talk about my doctoral research on Russian living in exile in Central Asia youtu.be/S92jWqbn2LA?...
Episode 37: What has become of Russia's Wartime exiles in Central Asia?
YouTube video by Turan Tales
youtu.be
In the new episode of Turan Tales, we look at the fall of Kyrgyzstan’s ruling duo: President Sadyr Japarov and security chief Kamchybek Tashiev. Joining us is Aksana Ismailbekova, anthropologist and research fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient turantales.substack.com/p/who-is-cry...
Who is crying for Tashiev? The end of Kyrgyzstan's ruling duo
TURAN TALK with Aksana Ismailbekova, a Kyrgyz anthropologist and research fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO)
turantales.substack.com
As Russia’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law spreads across the region, queer spaces in Kazakhstan’s second city are disappearing – and with them, the city’s creative pulse. Check out the new audio doc/long read by Turan Tales with the amazing photos by Danil Usmanov turantales.substack.com/p/rainbow-al...
Rainbow Almaty: The end of a queer dream
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.
turantales.substack.com
This week on the Turan Tales podcast, we focus on Tengrism, the ancient belief system which is still widely misunderstood. Joining us is @abbyscripka.bsky.social, a doctoral candidate at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History turantales.substack.com/p/episode-34...
Episode 34: Tengrism in Central Asia. From ancient belief to cultural phenomenon
TURAN TALK with Abigail Scripka, a doctoral candidate at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History
turantales.substack.com
This week on the Turan Tales podcast, we look at Kazakhstan’s new draft constitution and what it could mean for the country’s future. Joining us is Dmitriy Mazorenko, journalist and co-founder of the Superstructure research centre turantales.substack.com/p/episode-31...
Episode 31: Why is Kazakhstan rewriting its Constitution?
TURAN TALK with Dmitriy Mazorenko, a journalist and co-founder of the Superstructure research centre.
turantales.substack.com
Don't miss the new Turan Tales with @aga-pik.bsky.social 👏👏👏
Agnieszka Pikulicka@aga-pik.bsky.social · 5mo agoDushanbe has been on a path toward modernisation. New buildings, many of them Chinese-funded, have dotted the city, transforming its traditional architecture. Will Dushanbe become a new AI hub as the government wants? Listen to the new episode of Turan Tales turantales.substack.com/p/episode-30...
Dushanbe has been on a path toward modernisation. New buildings, many of them Chinese-funded, have dotted the city, transforming its traditional architecture. Will Dushanbe become a new AI hub as the government wants? Listen to the new episode of Turan Tales turantales.substack.com/p/episode-30...
Episode 30: Goodbye, old Dushanbe. Hello, AI hub?
TURAN TALK with Sher Khashimov, a journalist and Dushanbe native
turantales.substack.com
My latest on why Murat Adam, a prominent Kazakh lawyer, lost his license and the limits of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan thediplomat.com/2026/02/why-...
Why Was a Kazakh Lawyer Stripped of His License?
Murat Adam tried to defend the rights of his client, an editor under fire, and found himself in the state’s crosshairs.
thediplomat.com
This week on Turan Tales podcast, 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. Joining us is Mihra Rittmann, Senior Central Asia Researcher at Human Rights turantales.substack.com/p/episode-29...
Episode 29: The human rights system is in peril. What does it mean for Central Asia?
TURAN TALK with Mihra Rittmann, senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch
turantales.substack.com
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. Listen to our new audio documentary on Substack or wherever you get your podcasts open.substack.com/pub/turantal...
Good education: The rise and fall of Hizmet schools in Central Asia
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.
open.substack.com
Great listen about rich history of carpetmaking in #CentralAsia from @aga-pik.bsky.social on her Turan Tales Substack. Also check out my book Silk Mirage, where I write about enterprising Uzbeks reviving traditions that were all but stamped out in Soviet times turantales.substack.com/p/episode-28...
Episode 28: From nomad tents to Soviet walls - The story of Central Asian carpets
TURAN TALK with Anushe Dust, founder and editor-in-chief of RugMag magazine
turantales.substack.com
This week on Turan Tales, we talk about carpets in Central Asia: their history, the roles they played, and how the Soviet Union hijacked the practice of carpet making. Joining us is Anushe Dust, a Tajik-born founder and editor-in-chief of RugMag magazine turantales.substack.com/p/episode-28...
Episode 28: From nomad tents to Soviet walls - The story of Central Asian carpets
TURAN TALK with Anushe Dust, founder and editor-in-chief of RugMag magazine
turantales.substack.com
This week on Turan Tales, we’re taking a closer look at the Tajik-Afghan border. Joining us is Mélanie Sadozaï, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Regensburg whose work focuses on the Pamir region. turantales.substack.com/p/episode-27...
Episode 27: The Tajik-Afghan borderland - What’s going on and how we got here
TURAN TALK with Mélanie Sadozaï, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Regensburg
turantales.substack.com
Tune in to my conversation with @aga-pik.bsky.social on her Turan Tales Substack about #Uzbekistan + my book Silk Mirage. We talk about everything from Mirziyoyev's reforms and their limits to former political prisoners' search for justice. And read the book! turantales.substack.com/p/episode-26...
Episode 26: The limits of change in the "New Uzbekistan"
TURANT TALK with Joanna Lillis, journalist and author of "Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan"
turantales.substack.com
What’s changed in #Uzbekistan since Mirziyoyev came to power a decade ago + launched the "Uzbek Spring? Many things have, some haven’t. Tune in to a deep dive into my new book Silk Mirage + #Uzbekistan on @aga-pik.bsky.social's Turan Talks podcast on Substack turantales.substack.com/p/episode-26...
Episode 26: The limits of change in the "New Uzbekistan"
TURANT TALK with Joanna Lillis, journalist and author of "Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan"
turantales.substack.com
This week on Turan Tales we are looking at Uzbekistan: how the country was shaped under Islam Karimov, and what has changed since Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power. Joining us is Joanna Lillis the author of "Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan" turantales.substack.com/p/episode-26...
Episode 26: The limits of change in the "New Uzbekistan"
TURANT TALK with Joanna Lillis, journalist and author of "Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan"
turantales.substack.com
This week on Turan Tales podcast, we’re discussing whether modern art can flourish in Central Asia. In other words: can autocracies handle free expression? Joining us is Timur Karpov, a documentary photographer, and founder of the 139 Documentary Centre open.substack.com/pub/turantal...
Episode 24: Can modern art flourish in Central Asia?
TURAN TALK with Timur Karpov, documentary photographer, curator, founder of the 139 Documentary Centre
open.substack.com
This week on Turan Tales podcast we're looking at the results of Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary election and how the country has changed since the 2020 revolution and the coming to power of Sadyr Japarov. Joining us is @adoolotkeldieva.bsky.social turantales.substack.com/p/episode-23...
Episode 23: After the elections - Inside the “New Kyrgyzstan”
TURAN TALK with Asel Doolotkeldieva, a research fellow at the University of Potsdam
turantales.substack.com
In Poland, officials are pushing tough migration policies and even harsher rhetoric, even as Ukrainians give the country an economic boost and contain Russia on the battlefield next door. Read The Beet’s last feature story of 2025, courtesy of @aga-pik.bsky.social! meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Unpacking the paradoxes of Poland’s migration debate — Meduza
With roughly a million Ukrainian refugees now residing in Poland and fears about hybrid war and border security unabated, discussions about migration have become entangled with a range of domestic and...
meduza.io
Read my latest story for Meduza’s the Beet about the paradoxes of Poland’s migration debate meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Unpacking the paradoxes of Poland’s migration debate — Meduza
With roughly a million Ukrainian refugees now residing in Poland and fears about hybrid war and border security unabated, discussions about migration have become entangled with a range of domestic and...
meduza.io
Poland’s open-arms policy for Ukrainian refugees has given way to a roiling migration debate deeply entangled with domestic and foreign policy issues. The Beet’s latest, from journalist @aga-pik.bsky.social. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Unpacking the paradoxes of Poland’s migration debate — Meduza
With roughly a million Ukrainian refugees now residing in Poland and fears about hybrid war and border security unabated, discussions about migration have become entangled with a range of domestic…
meduza.io
Excellent Turan Tales on the architectural heritage of #Samarkand. @aga-pik.bsky.social has done it again. 👇
Agnieszka Pikulicka@aga-pik.bsky.social · 8mo agoThis week on Turan Tales podcast, I am joined by Diora Rafieva, an Uzbekistani lawyer and human rights activist who has been at the frontline of the fight to save Samarkand and its architectural heritage from the ongoing demolitions - and bad taste. turantales.substack.com/p/episode-22...
This week on Turan Tales podcast, I am joined by Diora Rafieva, an Uzbekistani lawyer and human rights activist who has been at the frontline of the fight to save Samarkand and its architectural heritage from the ongoing demolitions - and bad taste. turantales.substack.com/p/episode-22...
Episode 22: Who will save Samarkand?
TURAN TALK with Diora Rafieva, a lawyer and human rights activist
turantales.substack.com
A few weeks ago, I sat down with @peterleonard1.bsky.social from CAPS Unlock podcast to talk about Turan Tales, doing journalism in Central Asia, and working with sounds. You can listen to it on Substack or your favourite podcast platform open.substack.com/pub/havli/p/...
Agnieszka Pikulicka on telling Central Asia’s stories differently
A conversation with journalist Agnieszka Pikulicka on shifting Central Asia reporting away from clichés and toward stories driven by people rather than geopolitics.
open.substack.com