The establishment of printing and book publishing in the republic was fraught with great difficulties. There was no printing industry, a lack of journalists, and insufficient funds and paper. Initially, the publication of printed materials in the Kyrgyz language was carried out outside the republic.
The first publication in Russian — the newspaper "Pishpek Leaf" — was released on March 9, 1918. In 1920, the magazine "Young Proletarian" began to be published. On the 7th anniversary of the October Revolution, on November 7, 1924, the first issue of the newspaper "Erkin-Tuu" ("Free Mountains") was published. Its first editor was Osmonkul Aliyev, who later became the commissioner of education. Kyrgyz students studying in Tashkent participated in the newspaper's publication. In 1924, the newspaper's editorial office, along with its printing shop, moved from Tashkent to Pishpek, and on August 20, 1927, the newspaper was renamed "Kyzyl Kyrgyzstan" ("Red Kyrgyzstan"). The newspaper laid the foundation for the development of national literacy, printing, and professional literature. On March 12, 1925, the first issue of the newspaper in Russian, "Batyratskaya Pravda," was published. It was later renamed "Soviet Kyrgyzstan." On November 7, 1926, the first issue of the youth newspaper "Leninchil Zhas" ("Lenin's Youth") was published. On May 5, 1928, the first issue of the monthly magazine "On the Path to a New Culture" was released. Work was underway to train journalists. In 1934, the newspaper and magazine publishing house "Kyzyl Kyrgyzstan" was established.
In 1937, seven republican newspapers with a circulation of over 100,000 copies and three magazines were published in the republic. One publishing house, the editorial offices of three newspapers, and three magazines were awarded orders: the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the "Sign of Honor," and the Friendship of Peoples. During the Great Patriotic War, the editorial offices of newspapers actively engaged in mobilizing material and spiritual resources for the needs of the front. In the post-war period, they actively contributed to the further development of the national economy. Since 1967, the newspaper "Culture of Kyrgyzstan" began to be published. In 1975, there were eight republican, six regional, 51 district, one evening city, and 40 mass-circulation newspapers, 12 magazines, and 10 continuing publications with a total circulation of 2 million copies in Kyrgyz, Russian, Uzbek, and Dungan languages.
During these years, the book publishing industry developed. The printing industry grew with the help of specialists from Tashkent and Almaty. The State Book Chamber was opened on January 1, 1936, which annually received over 14,000 copies of printed products. By the beginning of 1980, the archive of printed materials in Kyrgyzstan consisted of 625,479 copies of various publications.
