Terjiman

The newspaper was first published on April 10, 1883.

“The Crimean Tatar press appeared relatively late, compared to the press of European nations or the Ukrainian people, it is the end of the 19th century. Terjiman is the first well-known newspaper that was created in Crimea in the city of Bakhchisaray", - Yuksel says.

The founder and publisher of Terjiman was a Crimean Tatar figure and educator, Ismail Gasprinsky, whose newspaper had been published for 35 years from 1883 to 1918, four years after Gasprinsky's death.

Ismail Gasprinsky. Source: ATR

According to the representative of the Mejlis, it was not so easy to open the newspaper at that time.

Terjiman is the fourth newspaper in the Russian Empire among the Turkic peoples: one was in Central Asia, two were in the Caucasus, and the fourth was in Crimea.

"But in terms of influence, popularity, and timing of publication, this is, of course, the first such influential, popular newspaper", - Yuksel said.

Terjiman was an exemplary newspaper. Its geography was very wide- from the Balkans to Japan, people read the newspaper in Central Asia and Turkey. Terjiman had a circulation of 10,000 copies. It was such a good figure, even nowadays.

“Terjiman became a basis not just for providing current information. The basis for educational activities, and the basis for the dissemination of Gasprinsky's ideas, in terms of education and raising the educational level of the Crimean Tatars", - she said.

"Terjiman" ("Translator"). Source: ATR

From 1883 to 1903, the newspaper was published once a week. From 1903 to 1912 - twice or thrice a week, and after 1912 it was published daily.

The content of the newspaper was varied. Everyone could find in it everything they wanted. It cost only 10 kopecks, which at that time was affordable to every family. Besides, Terjiman was distributed free of charge in places where people often gathered - in cafes and libraries.

“It was Gasprinsky's idea to do everything to make the newspaper widely known. It was not a commercial newspaper that was published just for profit.Although the newspaper "Terjiman" almost from the first issues contained ads", - said Yuksel

Crimean Tatar journalism in the conditions of occupation of Crimea

Zidan Adzhikelyamov, a journalist and biochemist-laboratory technician by profession, started working as a journalist after the occupation of Crimea in 2014.

“I graduated from college, and I could not get a job in Crimea, so I started to work at the factory. When mass detentions, searches, and tortures began in Crimea, such as the torture of Renat Paralamov, I could not stay away", - Adzhikelyamov recalls.

Among the difficulties of working as a correspondent in occupied Crimea, the Crimean Tatar called the searches.

“When there were mass detentions, during which 25 Crimean Tatars and Crimean Muslims were detained. It all happened early in the morning, I got a call on the phone, I learned that there were three searches. I washed, got dressed, collected my equipment -  there were already five searches. I left the house - there are already 7. When we reached Belogorsk - there were already 15, and when we arrived in Simferopol - there were already more than 20 searches. Of course, we didn't know where to go, which ones to cover", - he recalled.

Zidane Adzhikelyamov. Source: YouTube / Crimean Solidarity

According to Adzhikelyamov, few journalists cover these events objectively, show how these searches take place, show the families and children.

"Crimean Tatar journalism is a real struggle. It's a struggle with what is happening in Crimea today. This is our peaceful struggle to prove that Crimean Tatars are not terrorists. Crimean Muslims have never been like this, and today they try to cast Crimean Tatars as terrorists, illegally, unfairly. That's why we work- we cover all these "trials"", - said the journalist.