Process of historical development of print media in the post-independence Azerbaijan

For centuries, the press has always directed social, economic and cultural changes and developments in society. At the same time, all political events in history have affected press and journalistic practices considirable. Like the other Turkish states that have to live under the rule of Russia, Azerbaijani press has played a very essential role in reaching the consciousness of the cultural values of Azerbaijan, especially in terms of language, literature, history and in national struggle. The Azerbaijani press has gone through a difficult historical process and has come up to date, especially in the process of post-independence transformation that started after the collapsing of the Soviet Union, gradually became politicized and positioned on different political fronts. The identity of the press and journalists, shaped by the struggle for national independence and stamped on transitional professional practices, constituted the main focus of this work. The study addressed the basic dynamics of the break with Soviet journalism, which is operating in line with the basic political and ideological priorities of the Soviet system and which is obliged to disseminate the ideology of Communism. The social factors that constitute the first period of journalistic practices have been identified, so the connection between the transformation on press and the social transformation has been resolved. Taken from this perspective, in the study, the factors underlying the post-independence journalism in Azerbaijan were evaluated in a wide historical analysis in accordance with the basic dynamics of the political power – state struggle. At the same time, the role of journalists in the identity of a general transformational period, in which journalists left their own discussions and left the track of national independence struggle in the journalism profession, was analyzed.