page_title: Dushanbe
section_title: Newspapers and magazines
hierarchical_section_title: Dushanbe / Media / Newspapers and magazines
caption_attribution_description: صفحهٔ اول از نخستین شمارهٔ روزنامه بخارای شریف
context_page_description: Dushanbe is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. As of January 2020, Dushanbe had a population of 863,400. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as Stalinabad, after Joseph Stalin.
  In ancient times, what is now or is close to modern Dushanbe was settled by various empires and peoples, including Mousterian tool-users, various neolithic cultures, the Achaemenid Empire, Greco-Bactria, the Kushan Empire, and the Hephalites. In the Middle Ages, more settlements began near modern-day Dushanbe such as Hulbuk and its famous palace. From the 17th century to the early 20th, Dushanbe began to grow into a market village controlled at times by the Beg of Hisor, Balkh, and finally Bukhara. Soon after the Russian invasion in 1922, the town was made the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924, which commenced Dushanbe's development and rapid population growth that continued until the Tajik Civil War. After the war, the city became capital of an independent Tajikistan and continued its growth and development into a modern city.
context_section_description: The first newspaper published in Tajik was Bukhara Sharif in Kagan on March 11 1912 and published by leaders of the Jadid movement like Mirzo Jalol Yusufzoda. The purpose of the newspaper was to "be a scientific, literary, directional, subject, and economic publication that will strive for the spread of civilization and the idea." Soon after, however, Ivan Petrov requested that the Emir of Bukhara close the paper, which he did on January 2 1913. The newspaper in its short time in existence printed 12 works of Tolstoy.
  The first printing press in Tajikistan was created in August 1924, the Tajik State Publishing House, the Donish Publishing House was founded in 1944, and the Maorif Publishing House was created in 1975.
  Oina and Mullo Nasreddin were two of the earliest Tajik language magazines. The Zvezda Vostok magazine was published in Tajik in the early 1920s in support of the October Revolution.
  The first Soviet newspaper distributed in Tajikistan was Shulai Inkilob (Flame of the Revolution) as propaganda for the Soviet government in 1919. It was distributed throughout Tajikistan and was the main Tajik language newspaper that opposed the previous Emirate and was clearly in support of communism, the October Revolution, and the Bukharan Communist Party.
  The first Soviet newspaper published in Tajikistan was Po basmachi which detailed the conditions of the Red Army in Tajikistan in 1923 during the Basmachi movement. In 1924, the newspaper Voice of the East, the first Soviet government newspaper in Tajik was published in Dushanbe and was a forum for much of the poetry and literature of the young republic. In 1925, the official newspaper of Soviet Tajikistan was"Bedorii tochik (Awakening of the Tajiks). An Uzbek-language paper, Red Tajikistan, was published in Tajikistan as well.
  Sadriddin Ayni also published many newspapers such as Bukhara News, Horpustak, and Flame of the Revolution.
  In 1929, the newspaper Red Tajikistan came into print with a large daily circulation of 5000. In the 1930s Komsomolets Tadzhikistana was published as a communist paper intended for the youth of Tajikistan. Many other newspapers were published during this time as well.
  The press often emphasized the collective farming system and the newspaper Dehkoni Kambagal was popular among farmers.
  During World War 2 newspaper production was strained as raw materials became increasingly scarce and their numbers were reduced. After the war, the many newspapers from the 30s began to be produced once again. In the 60s and 70s the newspaper Communist of Tajikistan gained prominence, winning the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. International cooperation also began to be emphasized during the time period.
  In the 1980s, Maorif va Madaniyat, an influential public and literary paper was divided into two editions, a cultural and pedagogical one. The Culture of Tajikistan newspaper was renamed Literature and Art and became influential in the country.
  During perestroika, newspapers began to embrace more liberal and democratic ideas. One of the first to do this was the Komsomol of Tajikistan. Farkhang, a new literary magazine, published national Tajik and Islamic literature banned before such as the Masnavi. The Sukhan newpaper, published by the Union of Journalists of Tajikistan, was a leading voice for liberalism and perestroika in the republic, writing about topics such as freedom of speech, democratization, and the opposition. The first publication not released by the state was from Rastokhez, printed in Lithuania and delivered to Dushanbe. The Democratic Party of Tajikistan published a paper, Justice, in Dushanbe as well which had a circulation of 25000. Charogi Ruz, or Light of Day, was the first private publication in Dushanbe, and advertised itself as the free tribune for youth. Free publications such as Oinai zindagi (by trade unions), Somon, Haftgandzh, and others began to form. Today, Charogi Ruz is known for its sharp criticism of the ruling government.
  In August 1999, there were officially 199 newspapers, although only 17 of those appear regularly.
  Some of
caption: The front page of the first issue of Bukhara Sharif newspaper
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