Timur Tilliaev

The Uzbek president’s younger daughter, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, has openly distanced herself from her sister Gulnara Karimova as well as her father Islam Karimov’s policies. In her interview with the BBC published on 25 September, Karimova-Tillyaeva revealed an extraordinary rift at the heart of Uzbekistan’s ruling family, which seems to be beyond repair. Karimova-Tillyaeva said there was no family or friendly relations between her and her sister.

“Any good relationship requires a similarity of outlook or likeness of character. There is nothing like that in our relationship, has never been and is not now. We are completely different people, and these differences, as you know, only grow over the years,” Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva told the BBC.

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva currently serves as Uzbekistan’s envoy in a UN cultural organization, UNESCO. She is also involved in charity work and supports two charitable organisations in Uzbekistan, which help orphaned children and children with disabilities.

She is married to businessman Timur Tillyaev. It is known from media sources that Timur Tillyaev spent his formative years in the USA, where he went to a high school and then did his undergraduate studies at Midland University.

Despite living abroad since 2006, Timur Tillyaev maintained some of his business interests in Tashkent, which include shares in the Abu Sahiy trade and transport company.

The couple have three children: two daughters and a son.