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Azerbaijan did not have a newspaper in its native language until “Akinchi”. Therefore, the day when the first issue of “Mingdi” was printed on July 22, 1875, the foundation of our national newspaper was laid.
This was noted by historian and scientist Zar Aliyev, Milli.Az reports.
Three people strongly supported Hassan bey Zardabi in starting a newspaper:
1. The idea of publishing an Azerbaijani newspaper in the Caucasus was first proposed by the German-born Grigory Vladimirovich Rosen, who served as the Commandant of the Caucasus from 1831 to 1837. In 1831, he wrote to the Minister of Public Education, Prince Karl Lieven, and the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, raising the need for the newspaper Tatar News. Baron Rosen was the Commandant of the Caucasus from 1831 to 1837.
2. Hasan bey Zardabi appealed to several millionaires in Baku to publish the first Azerbaijani language newspaper. Haji Zenarabuddin Tajiyev, Musa Najiyev, Murtuza Mukhtarov, Shamsi Asadullayev and others did not give him money. The reason was that the Russian Empire was against publishing newspapers in its native language. Haji Zenarabuddin Tajiyev provided monthly funding for two Armenian newspapers, a Russian newspaper and a newspaper published in India, but Zardabi did not want to fund his native language newspaper. Musa Najiyev’s affairs director did not accept Zardabi at all. Shamsi Asadullayev used the excuse that his ship was heavily in debt.
Abdullah Bakikhanov came to Zardabi’s aid. Abdullah Bakikhanov, a major general in the Russian Imperial Army and half-brother of Azerbaijani writer and educator Abbasiguru Agha Bakikhanov, allocated 10,000 rubles for the newspaper. The 10,000 included Zardabi’s four trips to Istanbul to buy the fonts (letters) for printing the newspaper, printing four issues of the newspaper, and bribing local officials to obtain permission to print the newspaper.
On the day the newspaper was allowed to print, Abdullah Bakikhanov wrote to Zardabi, saying that he was ready to provide more funds as long as his native language newspaper continued to be published. Abdullah Bakikhanov considered it very important to publish such a newspaper in his native language, and he tried to obtain permission to publish the newspaper through his personal acquaintances.
3. Hasan Bey Zardabi wanted to publish the first Azerbaijani newspaper and after 7 years of struggle he got permission. In fact, the name of the newspaper was not “Akinçi”. Zardabi wanted to name the newspaper “Caucasian Turkish Newspaper” or “Caucasian Tatar Newspaper”. But after a meeting with the Governor of Baku, Major General DS Staroselski, they allowed him to publish a newspaper, but with one condition: the newspaper would be called “Akinchi” (“Пахарь”) and report on agriculture and farming. In short, the first Azerbaijani newspaper was named by the Governor of Baku, Major General DS Staroselski.
The newspaper was born mainly due to the patronage of Baku Governor Dmitry Staroselsky, who allowed the publication of the newspaper. He was friends with Governor Hasan Bey, his Georgian wife Ekaterina Guramashvili, and Zardabi’s wife Hanifa Khanum. Staroselsky partially financed Hasan Bey’s project.
At first, Akinchi had only 100 subscribers, and the newspaper earned 300 rubles a month with a subscription fee of 3 rubles. Governor Staroselsky forced police officers in rural areas to subscribe to the newspaper, which increased the number of subscribers by another 300. In addition, about 500 copies were distributed for free to cultivate the habit of reading newspapers. Staroselsky said: “As long as I am the governor of Baku, it is my duty to donate 100 rubles to the Muslim Charity Association every year.”
However, after General Staroselsky was recalled from Baku, the newspaper encountered great financial difficulties. At first, Hasan Bey thought he could publish two copies of the newspaper a month, but by the end of the first half of the year, the losses amounted to 500 rubles. Later, the number of subscribers reached 600, and the newspaper began to be published weekly. By the end of the year, Hasan Bey’s losses rose to 1,000 rubles. In the third year, the number of subscribers began to decline rapidly. The new governor did not like the newspaper and Zardabi, and in September 1877 the newspaper had to be closed.
Akinçi was published in 56 issues.
mA
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