Tajikistan - Media



Telephone links to other former Soviet republics is by land line or microwave and to other countries through Moscow. Service is considered to be poorly developed and is not adequately maintained. Several towns are not within reach of the national network. As of 1997, there were 363,000 mainline telephones and 2,500 cellular phones in use.

Tajik Radio broadcasts in Russian, Tajik, Persian, and Uzbek; Tajik Television, with four channels, broadcasts in Tajik, Russian, and Uzbek. Repeater television stations relay programs from Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Satellite earth stations receive Orbita and INTELSAT broadcasts. As of 2001 there were 8 AM and 7 FM radio stations and 13 television stations. In 2000, there were 141 radios and 326 television sets per 1,000 population. The same year, there were about 2,000 Internet subscribers. In 2001, there were five Internet service providers.

In 2002 there were two major daily newspapers, Turkmenskaya Iskra, with a circulation of 62,946, and Narodnaya Gazeta. There are several publishing houses in Dushanbe, including educational, literary, and reference publishers.

Despite a 1991 law protecting already constitutionally provided free speech and press, the government is presently said to restrict these freedoms severely. Editors and journalists practice careful self-censorship, and supplies of newsprint, broadcasting facilities, and operating monies are controlled by the authorities.

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