Tajik State Print Media

State Media Monitor uses Tajik State Print Media as an analytical grouping for five national-level state-owned newspapers mapped in this profile. The name does not denote a legal entity or common publisher: the titles are issued by different state bodies, including the President, the Government, the Parliament and the Ministry of Education and Science. The grouping is not an exhaustive inventory of Tajikistan’s state and departmental press.

Media assets

Newspapers: Jumhuriyat, Sadoi Mardum, Khalq Ovozi, Narodnaya Gazeta and Omuzgor

A nationwide media-preference study conducted by Media Consulting and the Zerkalo Sociological Research Centre among 2,507 respondents from all regions in January and February 2024 found that 28 per cent read newspapers. Jumhuriyat remained the most-read state print publication. Zerkalo’s announcement describes the methodology, while a contemporary summary reports the newspaper findings.

Ownership and governance

The following five newspapers are founded or published directly by state institutions, but they do not share a single publisher.

Jumhuriyat is the official publication founded by the President and Government of Tajikistan. Its governing regulation identifies both institutions as founders and places the editorial office under their authority. The current arrangement dates from Presidential Decree No. 187 of 14 March 2000. The official regulation remains in force, while Khovar’s institutional history confirms the two founders.

Sadoi Mardum is the official publication of the Majlisi Oli, Tajikistan’s Parliament. Its first issue appeared on 1 January 1991 following a decision of the Supreme Soviet in August 1990. The newspaper’s institutional history continues to identify it as the parliamentary publication.

Khalq Ovozi is the Government’s official Uzbek-language publication. Its website identifies it expressly as such; it is not published by Parliament.

Narodnaya Gazeta is the Government’s official Russian-language weekly. Khovar likewise describes it as a publication of the Government of Tajikistan.

Omuzgor is a weekly publication founded by the Ministry of Education and Science. Its current masthead identifies the Ministry as founder and lists an editorial board. The title should therefore remain in the grouping, notwithstanding its more specialised educational remit. This status is confirmed in a recent issue.

Current published records identify the editors as:

• Jumhuriyat: Qurbonali Rahmonzoda, appointed in June 2015.
• Sadoi Mardum: Bakhtovar Karimzoda, still identified as editor in March 2026.
• Khalq Ovozi: Yoqubjon Abdumannonzoda, editor since December 2012 according to the newspaper’s editorial page.
• Narodnaya Gazeta: Mahbuba Kamolova, appointed by Government resolution in March 2017 and still identified as editor in 2026.
• Omuzgor: Ehson Safarzoda, identified on the newspaper’s current leadership page.

The appointments of Rahmonzoda and Kamolova demonstrate direct state involvement in senior editorial leadership. State Media Monitor did not identify the appointment instruments or protected procedures applying to the current editors of Sadoi Mardum, Khalq Ovozi or Omuzgor.

Source of funding and budget

Local experts and journalists interviewed by State Media Monitor in March 2023, May 2024 and March 2025 said that the state press receives public financing.

The legal framework expressly permits targeted state funding, financial assistance and other forms of public support for media. However, State Media Monitor could not identify title-level budget appropriations, published financial statements, audited accounts or revenue breakdowns for any of the five newspapers.

Editorial independence

The newspapers’ editorial agendas are closely aligned with the priorities of their state founders. Jumhuriyat and the two Government newspapers concentrate on presidential and governmental activity; Sadoi Mardum serves as Parliament’s official publication; and Omuzgor is attached to, and principally covers, the education system administered by its founding ministry.

The institutional structure permits direct influence. Each newspaper is founded by the body whose activities it reports, while appointments documented for Jumhuriyat and Narodnaya Gazeta were made directly by the President or Government. No independent governing body, protected appointment process or external accountability mechanism separates editorial leadership from the founding institution.

Tajikistan’s Law on Periodical Press and Other Mass Media, Law No. 961 of 19 March 2013, remains in force. Article 3 declares the media free, treats interference by state officials in editorial activity as unlawful, and prohibits censorship and persecution for criticism. Article 15 requires every issue to identify its founder and editor.

These provisions constitute formal legal safeguards and should be recorded. They do not, however, establish independent governance, protect editors from dismissal by state founders or provide a dedicated enforcement mechanism capable of counterbalancing the newspapers’ institutional subordination.

No current systematic content study was identified for this update. State Media Monitor therefore records the demonstrated structural control and observed alignment with official priorities rather than presenting the absence of dissenting coverage as a quantified finding.

AI and digital policy

State Media Monitor could not identify a published policy governing generative artificial intelligence, mandatory human verification, model provenance or audience disclosure at any of the five newspapers. It also could not establish the extent to which AI is used in their editorial production.

Tajikistan adopted an Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy to 2040 through Government Resolution No. 483 of 30 September 2022. The strategy establishes national development objectives and priorities but is not a binding disclosure regime for AI-generated media content.

Classification rationale

Tajik State Print Media remains classified State-Controlled Media (SC).

It is state-founded and directly state-governed. The five newspapers are attached to the President and Government, the Government alone, Parliament or the Ministry of Education and Science. Documented appointments at Jumhuriyat and Narodnaya Gazeta demonstrate direct state control of senior editorial leadership. No independent governing body or protected appointment mechanism was identified.

It is state-financed, although the degree of financial dependence cannot be quantified. Local experts and journalists interviewed across three research rounds confirmed public financing, and the press law expressly provides for state financial support. No title-level allocation, accounts or revenue breakdown was identified.

Its editorial agenda is aligned with the state. Each newspaper is published by a state institution and principally reports the activities and priorities of that institution or the wider government. Formal protections against censorship and official interference exist in the press law, but they are not accompanied by structurally independent governance or protected editorial appointments.

September 2026