McGill East European and Russian Film/Documentary Series: "Meet the Stans” – Parts One, Two and Three (2003, England, documentary, 40 minutes each)

In this BBC series, author and journalist Simon Reeve travels to Central Asia to meet the Stans: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. His journey provides viewers with a unique insight into these countries' culture and politics. Part One: Kazakhstan – The country has oil deposits thought to rival those of Saudi Arabia. But Simon also discovers former biological weapons factories with poor security that house 100 types of plague, a shrinking sea now home to camel farmers, and the region's best Beatles tribute band. Part Two: Kyrgyzstan – With none of Kazakhstan's natural resources, Kyrgyzstan is the only country in the world with both an American and a Russian military base. Simon also meets a member of a banned radical Islamic group before putting on a protective suit to visit one of the world's most highly radioactive sites. Part Three: Uzbekistan – In the most repressive of the "Stans" he visited, Simon finds himself followed by the secret police as he travels across the country. He meets the country's most famous pop star, visits a bodyguard training school, breaks the law by playing snooker and meets women at a marriage bureau for Uzbeks wanting Western husbands. He then ends his journey in the stunning ancient cities of Bukhara and Samarkand.