Gusman: New stage in Azerbaijani press began with arrival of Heydar Aliyev

From the first days of his political activities, Heydar Aliyev paid special attention to the development of mass media, creation of an open and professional information space, First Deputy Director General of TASS Mikhail Gusman said at the conference "The Role of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev in the Development of the Mass Media," Report informs.

He noted that the beginning of a new stage in the history of the Azerbaijani press was laid in July 1969, when Heydar Aliyev was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan.

"I remember that hot July day when I first heard the name of Heydar Aliyev. Just a few months after his coming to power, we felt the breath of new life, the renewal of the republic. The mass media began to work more openly, professionally, and with greater enthusiasm," Gusman added.

He emphasized that in those years, high-quality newspapers were published: "Bakinsky Rabochiy", "Kommunist" in Azerbaijani and even in Armenian, which, according to him, serves as a response to those who talk about the impossibility of coexistence.

"There was also the evening newspaper "Baku", as well as many youth publications - all of them became the response of the journalistic community to the changes initiated by Heydar Aliyev," he noted.

Gusman also emphasized that Heydar Aliyev deeply understood the importance of the role of the press in society and sought to ensure that the people and the government understood each other: "I have always said that the press and the government are like glass. It should be transparent, not distort reality. Heydar Aliyev sought precisely this kind of openness - so that the people knew what the government was trying to achieve and what it wanted."