Kazakhstan Senator Bibigul Zheksenbai has drawn attention to pressing issues surrounding the preservation of district and regional print media archives in her parliamentary inquiry.
According to the senator, more than 200 district and city newspapers operate in Kazakhstan, many of which have been published for nearly a century. These publications documented the socio-economic development of regions, published official decisions of local authorities, and reflected the everyday life of communities.
However, in recent years, archives of regional newspapers have faced systemic challenges. When editorial offices are closed or reorganized, archival materials are often lost or destroyed. In addition, Kazakhstan still lacks a unified digital registry and a comprehensive electronic archive of district newspapers published between 1930 and 2000.
Bibigul Zheksenbai emphasized that legal risks are of particular concern. In the 1990s and 2000s, many official decisions were published exclusively in district newspapers, meaning the loss of archives could affect the protection of citizens’ rights and judicial practice.
The senator noted that archives of regional press are invaluable sources for academic research, demographic and social analysis, assessment of public policy effectiveness, and the work of journalists and local historians. She stressed that this direction fully aligns with the goals of the “National Heritage” and “Digital Kazakhstan” initiatives.
In her inquiry, Bibigul Zheksenbai proposed conducting a comprehensive inventory of district newspaper archives nationwide, developing a unified national standard for their preservation and digitization, and introducing a mandatory procedure for transferring archives of liquidated or reorganized editorial offices to state archives.
