''Akinchi'' ( az, Əkinçi, ), also transliterated as ''Ekinchi'' ("The Cultivator"), was the first Azerbaijani-language newspaper, published in Baku (then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, now the capital of the

Republic of Azerbaijan A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

) between 1875 and 1877. It was the first newspaper fully printed in Azerbaijani, as well as the first newspaper in Russia printed in a

Turkic language The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...

History

Founded by a journalist, teacher, and scientist, and a Moscow University alumnus

Hasan bey Zardabi Hasan bey Zardabi ( az, Həsən bəy Zərdabi ), born Hasan bey Salim bey oghlu Malikov ( az, Həsən bəy Səlim bəy oğlu Məlikov, links=no ; 28 June 1842 — 15 November 1907), was an Azerbaijani journalist and intellectual, founder of the ...

, ''Akinchi'' was regarded almost as revolutionary not only as the first periodical published in Azeri, but for being also the means of reaching the masses. In order to make media accessible to lower classes, Zardabi propagated reforms in the literal Azeri language aimed at making it more

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

by excluding bulky expressions and loanwords from

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

used mostly in religious texts and classical poetry. ''Akinchi'' hence would often be subject to criticism by the literati who found its written style too colloquial.Everything Began with ''Akinchi''
by Nigar Jafarova. ''Nash vek''. 5 August 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2007 In fact, it was deliberately chosen to be written and published using simple, colloquial language so the lower, mainly uneducated (back then) masses would find it easier to grasp the main idea behind all those satirical poems and articles .The Russian governor of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Dmitry Staroselsky sympathized with Zardabi's endeavours and supported him in the establishment of ''Akinchi''. He was also the one proposing the name for the newspaper that in his opinion would convince the authorities that ''Akinchi'' was a non-political magazine that dealt with spreading agricultural technique. In addition to agriculture-oriented articles, Zardabi published materials related to

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

as well as editorials dealing with the social and cultural state of Muslims in the Caucasus. The first issue of ''Akinchi'' was printed on 22 July 1875. Staroselsky's departure was a factor that among others contributed to the shutting down of the periodical on 29 September 1877. Other reasons were lack of sponsorship and low number of readers (who would often be misled by the reactionist clergy into believing in the "sinful nature" of non-religious texts) despite the fact that the newspaper was given away for free. For the 26 months that it existed, ''Akinchi'' had attracted only 300 constant readers. Nevertheless, its existence profoundly contributed to the development of journalism in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

and the establishment of Azeri-language newspapers and magazines such as ''Ziya'' (in 1879), ''Ziya Gafgaziya'' (in 1880), ''Keshkul'' (in 1883), ''Sharg-i rus'' (in 1903), ''Irshad'', ''Hayat'' (both in 1905), ''Fiyuzat'', ''Takammul'' and ''

Molla Nasraddin Nasreddin () or Nasreddin Hodja (other variants include: Mullah Nasreddin Hooja, Nasruddin Hodja, Mullah Nasruddin, Mullah Nasriddin, Khoja Nasriddin) (1208-1285) is a character in the folklore of the Muslim world from Arabia to Central Asia ...

'' (all in 1906) after which the Azeri press entered a new stage of development. 22 July, the day of the first publication of ''Akinchi'', was declared in 2010 as the National Press Day in Azerbaijan.

Importance and impact

The establishment of ''Akinchi'' was important for several reasons. To start with, with the release of ''Akinchi,'' people started to regard press as a means of mass media, basis for educational reforms, and as an instrument with which social and public conscience was formed.

Hasan Bey Zardabi Hasan bey Zardabi ( az, Həsən bəy Zərdabi ), born Hasan bey Salim bey oghlu Malikov ( az, Həsən bəy Səlim bəy oğlu Məlikov, links=no ; 28 June 1842 — 15 November 1907), was an Azerbaijani journalist and intellectual, founder of the ...

said in the first issue of the journal that a newspaper should mirror the reality of the place it represents and should reflect the needs and wants of the people of the given territory. Another important factor and effect ''Akinchi'' has caused was that the journalism system and the generation of journalists appeared for the first time. Professional principles also started to appear for the first time. An official use of Azerbaijani language became the basis for the functioning of the journal. ''Akinchi'' also helped a lot in terms of getting educated people together and of paving the way for the next educated and thinker generation to come.

References

External links

Several articles from ''Akinchi''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akinchi 19th century in Azerbaijan 1875 establishments in the Russian Empire 1877 disestablishments in the Russian Empire Azerbaijani-language newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Azerbaijan Mass media in Baku Newspapers established in 1875 Publications disestablished in 1877