President Emomali Rahmon, who is also Head of the Government of Tajikistan, on March 17 signed a decree on appointment of a new editor-in-chief of Narodnaya Gazeta (Popular Newspaper), Russian-language mouthpiece of Tajikistan’s Government.

Ms. Mahbuba Kamolova, formerly deputy head of the Department for Regional Security Issues at the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan, was appointed editor-in-chief of Narodnaya Gazeta, replacing Sirojiddin Izzatulloyev.

Founded in 1925, Narodnaya Gazeta was originally registered as Sovetskiy Tadjikistan (Soviet Tajikistan).  In 1930, the newspaper was renamed Kommunist Tadjikistana (The Communist of Tajikistan).  The newspaper was registered under the name of Narodnaya Gazeta on September 9, 1991.