The emergence of periodical press in Kyrgyzstan dates back to 1913, when representatives of the progressive Russian intelligentsia founded and published the magazine "Przhevalsky Rural Host" with a volume of 16-18 pages and a circulation of 1,000 copies, which published agricultural materials. After 4 issues, the publication of the magazine was discontinued. In the history of Kyrgyzstan, it remains as the first printed publication.
In 1914, in Pishpek, a private publishing house began releasing the "Pishpek Bulletin." It contained announcements regarding the buying and selling, supply and demand of citizens, published news obtained from other sources, and materials about the external and internal politics of Tsarist Russia, especially concerning Central Asia. In 1916, the Chui Water Management Office published the newspaper "Telegraph Messenger." Due to a lack of publishing equipment and funding, these publications were soon closed.
The history of Kyrgyz publishing begins in 1916, when P.A. Vasilyev established the "Progress" publishing house in one of the apartments in Pishpek and began publishing the newspaper "Okraina." In early 1918, he donated it to the Council of National Economy of Pishpek. In 1919, the newspaper was renamed "Red Banner" and became the organ of the Pishpek County, and from April 1920, it was the organ of the county revolutionary organization of the RCP(b) and RLKSM.
In the 1920s, the newspaper "Young Proletarian" began to be published, becoming the organ of the Zheti-Su Regional Committee of the Komsomol, and later gained significant popularity. New newspapers began to be published: in Tokmok - "Herald," in Przhevalsk - "Voice of the Proletariat," "Call to Labor." In 1922-1923, the newspaper "Red Morning" was published as the organ of the Executive Committee of the Councils and the Pishpek County-City Committee of the Party. In 1922, the newspaper "Red Truth" began to be published as the organ of the County-City Committee of the Communist Party of Turkestan and the County Revolutionary Committee. The newspapers agitated for a bright future for the country and explained the significance of Soviet power.
Since all these publications were published only in Russian, they naturally could not satisfy the spiritual needs of the population of Kyrgyzstan, which did not speak this language. Therefore, "Kemek," "Tilshi," "Jany-Oryush," "Ak-Zhol," "Zhas Kairat," "Sana," "Sholpan," and other newspapers and magazines published in Almaty and Tashkent were addressed to users of Kyrgyz and other Turkic languages. These publications, which were released in Kazakh, Uzbek, and Tatar languages, also included materials in the Kyrgyz language: by K. Tynystanova, S. Karacheva, J. Tulegabilova, O. Lepesova, K. Bayalina, T. Zholdosheva, B. Kalpakova - representatives of the creative youth studying in Tashkent, Kazan, Almaty, and Ufa. In these publications, the first Kyrgyz journalists and writers of Kyrgyzstan worked as literary contributors, laying the foundations of national journalism.
