Dear readers, friends, colleagues, and everyone who once happened to pick up our newspaper (and stayed with us for years)!

Today, Asia-Plus celebrates its 25th anniversary. A quarter of a century is no joke. It’s thousands of articles, hundreds of investigations and reports, millions of cups of coffee in the newsroom, and countless corrected commas.

Over these years, we’ve been through a lot: the joy of victories, crises, insane deadlines, and even a couple of lost flash drives containing important materials (don’t worry, we recovered everything).

We made it — in a short time, the newspaper became the most authoritative Russian-language publication in independent Tajikistan.

Today, I want to sincerely thank three groups of people for this achievement.

Thank you to the dozens of my colleagues who, over the years, have worked honestly and skillfully — editors, journalists, proofreaders, layout designers, and commercial team members.

Olga Tutubalina, Marat Mamadshoyev, Zafar Abdullayev, Ramziya Mirzobekova, Manizha Qurbonova, Nabi Yusupov, Parvina Hamidova, Zebo Tadjibaeva, Lilia Gaisina, Katya Kozhevnikova, Haidar Shodiyev, Roza Shaposhnik, Saifiddin Qarayev, Lena Akhmedova, Rukhshona Olimova, Yunus Buzurkhonov, Ahmad Astanayev...

Many of these individuals were made stars by Asia-Plus, and in return, they made our newspaper a “star.” Thanks to this incredible team, Asia-Plus has remained a leader in the Tajik media market for 25 years.

You who praise and criticize us, who argue with us in the comments, who care deeply about the fate of the country, and who start every Thursday with our weekly edition, still smelling of fresh ink.

My heartfelt thanks go to you — intelligent, principled, and thoughtful individuals. Thank you for reading us, sharing your opinions, and helping us improve!

Your collaboration not only sustains us economically but also helps us create engaging content. Thanks to you, Asia-Plus publishes unique stories, special projects, and amazing interviews.

I know how challenging it is to run your own business, so I sincerely wish all of you success! I’m confident that we have many exciting projects ahead of us that will benefit Tajik society.

In today’s world, our newspaper faces fierce competition from digital media, social networks, and blogs. The news cycle has accelerated, information is now available at the click of a button, and anyone can become a content creator.

However, print newspapers still hold their relevance: they provide verified information, analytical materials, and remain something more tangible and enduring than a digital newsfeed on a smartphone.

We believe that quality journalism will always find its audience, and we will continue to uphold high professional standards.

Happy Birthday, dear newspaper!