Kazakh Service
In Kazakhstan’s challenging media environment, Radio Azattyq offers informed and accurate reporting that exposes corruption and counters Chinese and Russia disinformation.
Website page views
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Facebook video views
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Instagram video views
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YouTube video views
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About the Service
Established in 1953, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service, known locally as Radio Azattyq, operates out of bureaus in Almaty and Astana, reporting in Kazakh and Russian.
The Service produces acclaimed documentaries and investigations into public corruption.
Journalists extensively cover the stories of ethnic Kazakhs, Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims being repressed in China’s Xinjiang region.
In 2024, Radio Azattyq published an exclusive interview revealing miscommunication between law enforcement agencies that led to the deaths of five people during “Bloody January” in 2022.
The Service remains the only media outlet in Kazakhstan to gather the names, photos, and stories of the “Bloody January” victims in an ongoing project to document the tragedy.
Reporters provided critical, extensive coverage of aftermath of massive floods in Kazakhstan in April – May 2024.
Radio Azattyq published a series of investigations into the offshore companies profiting from Kazakhstan’s extractive mining industry.
Reaching Audiences
Media Climate
Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index ranks Kazakhstan 142nd out of 180 countries.
The Kazakh government censors the press with telecommunications blackouts, internet shutdowns, and arrests.
During mass protests in 2022, access to the Kazakh Service website was blocked, and RFE/RL journalists were detained, shot at, and prevented from covering the unrest by the police. Since October 2022, access to Radio Azattyq’s website in-country is limited.
A new, restrictive media law adopted by the government in June 2024 places independent media under increased pressure.
Latest Updates
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly Visits Central Asia
During visits to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan this week, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) President & CEO Jamie Fly met with top government officials, human rights activists, and independent journalists.
RFE/RL Journalists Targeted As Kazakhstan Protests Spiral
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly criticized the targeting of Kazakh journalists covering fuel price protests that have spiraled beyond the government’s control.
Threats To RFE/RL Journalists Multiply As World Marks Press Freedom Day
Media freedom is under severe pressure throughout RFE/RL’s 23-country coverage region.
Service Director
Torokul Doorov
Torokul Doorov has been the Service Director of RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service, known locally as Radio Azattyq, since 2014. He started his career with RFE/RL as a Moscow-based correspondent in 2002. Later he worked as the Kyrgyz Service’s Azattyk Plus youth program editor for several years in Bishkek. Torokul Doorov graduated from the Journalism Faculty of Moscow State University.
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