ABSTRACT
To conclude the book, the author explores the results of Uzbek estrada politics between 2001 and 2016. Have they reached their goal of creating milliy estrada as the sound of the nation? And how is estrada as sonified national independence ideology received by listeners? Embedding her findings in the wider issues of postsocialist transition and authoritarian ruling, the author argues that the socialist pre-history of the genre has contributed to the politics’ successes – as well as its failures. As estrada’s prominent role in Uzbek culture politics ended with the death of Islom Karimov in 2016, the concluding chapter also scrutinises first statements and policies on culture by Karimov’s successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and casts a cautious glance at the possible future of estrada in Uzbekistan after Karimov.
