Azerbaijan celebrates 150 years of national press

Today marks the National Press Day of Azerbaijan.

Caliber.Az reminds that 150 years ago, on July 22, 1875, the first issue of the newspaper Akinchi was published, founded by one of the outstanding figures of the enlightenment movement of his time, Hasan bey Zardabi. Thus, the foundations of the national press in Azerbaijan were laid.

Akinchi established the foundation of a truly democratic and popular press in the Azerbaijani language. The newspaper, which published 56 issues, became a mirror of society and a standard-bearer of Azerbaijani journalism.

In the following years, newspapers and magazines published by well-known representatives of the intelligentsia, such as Ziya, Kashkul, Shargi-rus, Irshad, and Molla Nasraddin, continued the traditions of Akinchi. Their main goals were educational work, fighting ignorance, and injustice.

The Azerbaijani press has gone through several stages in its rich and glorious history. During the period of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the foundations of a free press and a new approach to current events were laid. The next stage covers the period after the ADR was occupied by the Bolsheviks. The period of communist dictatorship accounts for 70 years of the 150-year history of the press. During that time, the Azerbaijani press addressed existing problems using hidden subtexts because it was an instrument of ideology in the USSR. Thinking and writing otherwise were forbidden.

Starting from the second half of the 1990s, the Azerbaijani press entered a new stage of development. This coincided with the period of the establishment of Azerbaijani statehood and a democratic government system. The foundations of this stage were laid by the national leader Heydar Aliyev, who always highly valued the influence of the media on society and implemented consistent measures aimed at developing freedom of the press and speech, as well as strengthening the material and technical base of mass media. During the period of independence, Heydar Aliyev also signed the first decree concerning the Azerbaijani press.

Overall, the national leader signed more than ten orders and decrees related to solving issues of the press. In 1999, a law titled “On Mass Media” was adopted, meeting international standards. By Heydar Aliyev’s order dated August 6, 1998, censorship was abolished in Azerbaijan.

Great attention is given in the country to the development of the media, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. President Ilham Aliyev has signed important orders aimed at developing a free press, strengthening the material and technical base of mass media, and improving the socio-economic conditions of journalists.

During the 44-day Patriotic War of 2020, Azerbaijan achieved victory both on the battlefield and in the information space. Certain circles, which regularly conducted campaigns to defame our country, continued to misinform the international community during this period. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan held the advantage in the information war as well, having liberated its historical lands from occupation and fighting for truth and justice.

Two representatives of the Azerbaijani press became victims of Armenian terrorism. On June 4, 2021, a vehicle carrying journalists who were filming the liberated territories after the end of the Patriotic War struck an anti-tank mine near the village of Susuzlug in the Kalbajar district. As a result, AZERTAC correspondent Maharram Ibrahimov, AZTV cameraman Siraj Abishov, and the deputy representative of the head of the Kalbajar district executive authority for the Susuzlug rural administrative area, Arif Aghalar oglu Aliyev, were killed, and four others were injured.

On June 14, President Ilham Aliyev posthumously awarded Siraj Abishov, Arif Aliyev, and Maharram Ibrahimov with the Order "For Service to the Fatherland" 3rd degree.

On July 22, 2021 — National Press Day — President Ilham Aliyev presented apartments to the families of the journalist martyrs M. Ibrahimov and S. Abishov.