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July 22 is celebrated as National Press Day in Azerbaijan. By the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 5, 1991, the day when the first issue of "Akinchi" newspaper, the first national newspaper of Azerbaijan, was published - July 22 was declared the Day of Azerbaijan Journalism.

The press in itself is a mirror of society, a mirror of social consciousness and spirituality. In this regard, from the first pages of the history of the national press of Azerbaijan, it has fulfilled a responsible mission as a carrier, active propagandist and protector of our national and moral values.

The rich development path of the Azerbaijani national press is an important part of the history of our public opinion. Our national press continued the line of enlightenment, innovation, and modern cultural thinking started with "Akinci", and played an exceptional role in the national self-awareness of our people, in the process of national awakening. Zardabi and the enlightened writers who worked together with him in this newspaper tried to wake up the people from the sleep of ignorance.

Of course, all this could not but disturb the ruling circles of the time. Moreover, under the tsarism's dictates, some disbelievers who considered themselves "intellectuals" also attacked "Akinchi". Thus, on September 29, 1877, "Akinchi" was forced to stop its publication. This newspaper, which laid the foundation of the national press of Azerbaijan, played a great role in educating the people in the national and modern spirit, although it lived for two years. After "Akinchi", his path was followed by "Ziya", "Kashkul", "Kaspi" and other newspapers, which opened new pages of the national press.

On the occasion of the National Press Day, a virtual exhibition called "July 22 - National Press Day" was prepared by the employees of the National Library of Azerbaijan named after M.F. Akhundzade. In the virtual exhibition, official documents on the development of the Azerbaijani National Press, opinions of eminent persons about our national press, photos, books and articles reflecting the history of the development of our press and journalism are displayed.

Those who want to get acquainted with the virtual exhibition can access the  link  http://anl.az/el/vsb/22_iyul/index.html