Idman.biz
150 years have passed since the creation of the Azerbaijani national press.
İdman.biz reports that the date of July 22, when the "Akinchi" newspaper, founded by Hasan bey Zardabi, began to be published, has been celebrated as the National Press Day in Azerbaijan since 1991.
Although only 56 issues of "Akinchi" were published from July 22, 1875 to September 1877, it played an invaluable role in the formation and development of the Azerbaijani national press. "Akinchi", which mainly took on the mission of enlightenment, became very popular among both the intellectual class and ordinary people in a short time. It is no coincidence that prominent intellectuals and writers of the time cooperated with the newspaper and made regular articles. However, the life of "Akinchi" was short-lived. Tsarist Russia began to fear the role of the newspaper in enlightening people and making them more familiar with socio-political processes, and eventually stopped the publication of the newspaper.
Since then, the Azerbaijani press, which has gone through various periods of decline and revival, has always played the role of a mirror reflecting the society's view of the processes.
The abolition of censorship in August 1998 gave a serious impetus to the development of the press in Azerbaijan.
By the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev dated August 16, 1998 "On measures to ensure freedom of speech, thought and information in the Republic of Azerbaijan", censorship over mass media was abolished in the country. This decree not only gave a serious impetus to the rapid development of mass media, but also defined the main directions of a wide State Program in the field of increasing their rationality.
Currently, many different newspapers and magazines are published in the republic, and Internet journalism is developing.
The wide celebration of the anniversaries of the national press in the country, the provision of one-time assistance to the media, measures to strengthen the social protection of press workers, as well as awarding journalists with state awards for their services in the development of the national press are also part of the care for the press and press workers.
Two residential buildings have been built for journalists on the basis of the orders of the head of state on strengthening the social protection of Azerbaijani press workers. In 2013 and 2017, President Ilham Aliyev participated in the ceremony of distributing apartments in the building built for journalists on the occasion of National Press Day.
The reflection of freedom of speech and press in the Constitution of Azerbaijan as a fundamental principle has given impetus to the formation of the media as a free and strong institution of society in the country. Of course, the main participants of all these processes, the main reasons for the results achieved are Azerbaijani journalists.
On April 25, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on holding the 150th anniversary of the Azerbaijani national press.
İdman.biz
