Turkmenistan State News Agency
Turkmenistan's state-owned news agency and principal official source of domestic news.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Turkmenistan State News Agency, commonly abbreviated as TDH, is the state-owned national news agency of Turkmenistan. Based in Ashgabat, it reports on the country's political, economic, social, cultural and sporting affairs. Its output is published in Turkmen, Russian and English, giving the agency a domestic communications role as well as a limited international-facing function. TDH is the principal official news-distribution institution associated with the Turkmen state and is distinct from the country's small private news organizations, including Infoabad and Arzuw. The agency's institutional history reaches back to the Soviet period. A Telegraph Agency of Turkmenistan was opened in 1924, shortly after Ashgabat became the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. On 12 December 1925 it was renamed the Turkmen Telegraph Agency, or TurkmenTAG, and operated as a republican branch within the structure of the Soviet Union's Telegraph Agency, TASS. During the 1970s the organization adopted the name Turkmeninform News Agency. Following Turkmenistan's independence, the agency was reconstituted in 1991 as the national news agency of the independent state. In 1992 it became the State News Agency Turkmen-Press, at the same time separating from the TASS structure. The organization was renamed the Turkmen State Information Service, Turkmendovlethabarlary, on 4 May 2000. On 20 November 2014 it received its current designation, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan, generally rendered in English as Turkmenistan State News Agency or TDH. TDH's work extends beyond the preparation and distribution of text news. Its specialists are involved in developing, technically supporting and promoting websites related to Turkmenistan's culture. The agency also operates a multilingual web presence. In November 2013, it launched a redesigned website prepared jointly with the Ministry of Communications. The site included a live-streaming function for Turkmen television, described in reference material as the only such service in the country at that time. As a state-owned agency, TDH's positioning is institutional rather than commercially competitive. Its central function is to communicate official information and present state activities, public policy and national events through an authorized national channel. Coverage spans government and public affairs as well as cultural and sporting subjects. The agency's multilingual publishing allows selected material to reach Russian-speaking audiences and international readers, while Turkmen remains central to its domestic role. Bekdurdy Amansaryev is identified as the agency's editor-in-chief in the available reference material. No reliable public information was provided on revenue, staffing, ownership structure beyond state ownership, or a separate corporate parent.
History
The institutional predecessor of the Turkmenistan State News Agency was established in 1924, when a Telegraph Agency of Turkmenistan opened in the period after Ashgabat became the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. On 12 December 1925, it was renamed the Turkmen Telegraph Agency, commonly known as TurkmenTAG. In the Soviet information system, TurkmenTAG functioned as a republican organ of the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, TASS, linking news production in Turkmenistan to the centralized Soviet telegraph and news-distribution structure. By the middle of the 1970s, the organization had adopted the name Turkmeninform News Agency. This name reflected its continuing role as the republic's official news institution while retaining its place within the Soviet-era communications framework. The available reference material does not provide a detailed account of its publications, personnel or internal organization during this period, but the sequence of names documents its continuity as the principal official news service operating in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan's independence in 1991 brought a new institutional phase. The agency was established in its independent-state form in that year. In 1992 it was renamed the State News Agency Turkmen-Press and separated from the TASS structure. The change marked the agency's transition from a Soviet republican service to a national institution serving the newly independent state. Its remit continued to center on official news and information concerning public affairs in Turkmenistan. On 4 May 2000, the organization changed its name to the Turkmen State Information Service, or Turkmendovlethabarlary in Turkmen. This title emphasized its function as a state information body. On 20 November 2014, it was renamed the State News Agency of Turkmenistan. In English-language use, the organization is commonly called the Turkmenistan State News Agency and abbreviated TDH. These successive names represent administrative and political transitions rather than a break in the agency's long-running role as the country's central official news provider. TDH publishes material concerning the socio-political, socio-economic, cultural and sporting life of Turkmenistan. Its output is available in Turkmen, Russian and English, allowing it to serve domestic readers while also presenting official information to Russian-speaking and international audiences. The agency's work includes news reporting and analysis, and its specialists also participate in the development, technical support and promotion of websites concerning Turkmenistan's culture. The agency expanded its digital presence in November 2013, when it launched a redesigned website prepared jointly with the Ministry of Communications. The website included streaming of Turkmen television, a feature described in the available material as unique in Turkmenistan at that time. The online platform therefore became more than a text-news outlet: it also served as a channel for state media access and cultural or national-information presentation. TDH is headquartered on Bitarap Turkmenistan Avenue in Ashgabat. The available reference identifies Bekdurdy Amansaryev as its editor-in-chief. It also notes that two small private news agencies, Infoabad and Arzuw, exist alongside TDH. No further reliable information in the supplied material establishes a separate parent company, commercial ownership structure, financial performance or detailed chronology of directors.
- 2014
Adopts current agency name
[1]On 20 November, the organization was renamed the State News Agency of Turkmenistan.
- 2013
Launch of redesigned website
[1]TDH launched a redesigned website jointly prepared with the Ministry of Communications, including Turkmen television streaming.
- 2000
Renamed Turkmendovlethabarlary
[1]On 4 May, the agency adopted the name Turkmen State Information Service, or Turkmendovlethabarlary.
- 1992
Becomes Turkmen-Press
[1]The organization was renamed the State News Agency Turkmen-Press and separated from the TASS structure.
- 1991
Re-established after independence
[1]The agency was established in its independent Turkmenistan form after the country left the Soviet Union.
- 1975
Adopts the Turkmeninform name
[1]During the mid-1970s, the agency was renamed the Turkmeninform News Agency.
- 1925
Renamed TurkmenTAG
[1]On 12 December, the agency became the Turkmen Telegraph Agency, or TurkmenTAG, as a republican organ of TASS.
- 1924
Telegraph Agency of Turkmenistan opens
[1]A Telegraph Agency of Turkmenistan was opened in the Soviet-era republic, establishing the institutional lineage of the modern national news agency.
Products and positioning
The principal state-owned news and information service of Turkmenistan, focused on official domestic coverage and multilingual presentation of the country's political, economic, cultural and sporting life.
News agency
TDH news service
The agency's core service distributes official reports and analysis about Turkmenistan's political, socio-economic, cultural and sporting life. Content is published in Turkmen, Russian and English, supporting domestic communication and selected international access to official information.
Digital publishing platform · 2013
TDH website
TDH's web platform provides multilingual agency material and supports the agency's role in presenting official information online. A redesigned version launched in 2013 and incorporated streaming of Turkmen television.
Broadcast streaming · 2013
Turkmen television streaming
The redesigned TDH website introduced a streaming function for Turkmen television. The service was prepared with the Ministry of Communications and was described in the reference material as the only television-streaming project of its kind in Turkmenistan at launch.
Brand decisions
2014
Adopt the State News Agency of Turkmenistan designationOtherBackground
The organization had used several names during its Soviet-era and post-independence history.
Action taken
On 20 November, it was renamed the State News Agency of Turkmenistan, commonly abbreviated as TDH.
Aftermath
The new designation became the agency's current institutional identity in English-language references.
2013
Introduce website redesign and television streamingProduct launchBackground
TDH was expanding its online presence and sought to provide a broader digital channel for official news and national media.
Action taken
The agency worked with the Ministry of Communications to launch a redesigned website with a Turkmen television streaming function.
Aftermath
The website became a combined news and audiovisual access point for official Turkmen information.
Recent events
Transwarp releases TDH 8.0[3]
Reported:
Transwarp released version 8.0 of its enterprise one-stop big data platform TDH, featuring a multi-model architecture and support for eight storage engines and ten storage models.
Sources3 sources
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