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{|border="1" width="75%"
{{For|the blues rock band|Radio Moscow (band)}}
|+'''Voice of Russia Radio'''
{{Refimprove|date=October 2008}}
|-
{{Infobox network
|width="40%"|'''Country'''
| name = Russian State Radio Company ''Voice of Russia''
|width="40%"|Russian Federation
| logo = [[Image:Голос России логотип.gif]]
|-
| country = [[Russia]]
|width="40%"|'''Broadcasting time'''
| network_type = [[Radio network]]
|width="40%"|24 hours a day
| owner = [[All-Russia State Television and Radio Company]]
|-
| available = [[International]]
|width="40%"|'''Broadcasting area'''
| key_people = [[Andrey Bystritskiy]] (Chairman); [[Maxim Krasovsky]] (Editor-in-Chief, World Service in English)
|width="40%"|Worldwide
| launch_date = 29 October 1929
|-
| past_names = Radio Moscow
|width="40%"|'''Start of broadcasting'''
| website = [http://english.ruvr.ru/ ruvr.ru]
|width="40%"|October 29, 1929
|}}
|-
|width="40%"|'''Owner'''
|width="40%"|Government of the Russian Federation
|-
|width="40%"|'''Websites'''
|width="40%"|World Service http://english.ruvr.ru/, US Edition http://voicerussia.com/, UK Edition http://ruvr.co.uk/
|-
|width="40%"|'''Online broadcasting'''
|width="40%"|yes
|}



'''The Federal State Institution “Russian State Radio Broadcasting Company Voice of Russia” (FGBU RGRK Voice of Russia)''' is a state-run radio broadcaster that has been broadcasting to audiences all over the world since October 29, 1929. It is the oldest radio station in Russia.

The Voice of Russia Radio Broadcasting Company aims to introduce foreign audiences to Russia, present the official point of view on international events, to maintain dialogue with compatriots abroad and to popularize the Russian language and culture.
The Voice of Russia today is one of the largest multimedia outlets with programs available in 44 languages. VoR programming is transmitted on short and medium wavelengths, FM and AM bands, in the DAB/DAB+, DRM and HD-Radio formats, on cable networks, satellite channels, on the Internet and on mobile devices.


'''Voice of Russia''' ({{lang-ru|Голос России}}) is the [[Russia]]n government's international radio broadcasting service. Its predecessor '''Radio Moscow''' was the official [[international broadcasting]] station of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]].
The Voice of Russia is among the top five international radio stations with a total audience of 109 million in 160 countries.


==History==
==History==


The history of the Voice of Russia dates back to October 29, 1929, when Moscow launched regular radio broadcasts to foreign countries. The first programs were in German. They were followed by programs in French and English, which came out the same year. Moscow Radio, as the station was known back then, became the world’s first international broadcaster. The BBC first went on the air only three years later, while the Voice of America appeared seven years later.
===Early years===

===History===

[[Image:Quadratantenne Wachenbrunn.JPG|thumb|Antenna of "Voice of Russia" in Wachenbrunn, Germany]]
[[Image:Quadratantenne Wachenbrunn.JPG|thumb|Antenna of "Voice of Russia" in Wachenbrunn, Germany]]
[[Image:RADIOMOSCOWPENNANTLATE80s.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Radio Moscow pennant from late 1980s]]
[[Image:RADIOMOSCOWPENNANTLATE80s.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Radio Moscow pennant from late 1980s]]
[[Image:1979 stamp Radio Moscow.png|thumb|200px|right|Stamp of 1979]]
[[Image:1979 stamp Radio Moscow.png|thumb|200px|right|Stamp of 1979]]
Radio Moscow began broadcasting in 1922 with a transmitter station RV-1 in the [[Moscow Oblast|Moscow region]]. In 1925 a second broadcasting centre came on air at [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]]. Radio Moscow was broadcasting (on [[mediumwave]] and [[shortwave]]) in [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]], [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Arabic language|Arabic]] by 1939. Radio Moscow did express concern over the rise of German dictator [[Adolf Hitler]] during the 1930s, and its Italian mediumwave service specifically was [[radio jamming|jammed]] by an order of Italian dictator [[Benito Mussolini]] during the late 1930s.


The Voice of Russia radio station traces its history back to October 29, 1929, when regular broadcasting from Moscow to foreign countries began. The first programs aired were in German, and the same year the French and English languages were added. Moscow Radio, as the VoR was called back then, was the world's first international radio. The second international radio station, the BBC, appeared on the air only three years later, and the Voice of America - 7 years later.
===The Cold War years===
The U.S. was first targeted by Radio Moscow during the early 1950s, with transmitters in the Moscow region. Later Western North America was targeted by the newly constructed [[Vladivostok]] and [[Magadan]] relay stations.
The first broadcasts to [[Africa]] went on the air in the late 1950s in English and French.


On November 7, 1929, the radio station was the first to organize a live broadcast from the Red Square in Moscow, where celebrations in honor of the anniversary of the October Revolution were taking place. The broadcasting was conducted in two languages - German and French. Correspondents worked on the stands, interviewing foreign guests, and reporting about all the festivities in Moscow.
In 1961 Radio Moscow for the first time spoke in three African languages: [[Amharic language|Amharic]], [[Swahili language|Swahili]] and [[Hausa language|Hausa]]. Over time, listeners in Africa got a chance to tune into Radio Moscow in another eight African languages.


In 1930, Moscow Radio’s broadcasting in German, French and English became daily. Literary programs with the participation of prominent cultural figures speaking foreign languages were added to the radio station’s programming. During the same period the first broadcasts of the Bolshoi theatre’s operas were launched. A presenter would read the explanatory text directly from a theatrical box.
The first centralized news bulletin went on the air in August 1963 and reached out to listeners all over the world. In the years of the Cold War most news reports and commentaries focused on the relations between the United States and Soviet Union.
[[File:1980s R.Moscow.ogg|thumb|right|A sample of a Radio Moscow shortwave broadcast from the late 1980s.]]
In the 1970s the cream of Radio Moscow's commentator teams united in a radio journal, called "News and Views". Taking part in the ambitious project were [[Viktor Glazunov]], [[Leonid Rassadin]], [[Yuri Shalygin]], [[Alexander Kushnir]], [[Yuri Solton]] and [[Vladislav Chernukha]]. Over the years the journal grew into a major information and analytical program of the Radio Moscow foreign service.


As a rule, the broadcasting was live, because in those years the quality of recording was still extremely low.
===Changes 1980s–1991===
Another 10 languages were added to its international broadcasting in the 1930s. On July 1, 1940, Moscow Radio started broadcasting in Chinese. The first programs broadcasted to China were read by Deng Yingchao, the wife of the future Prime Minister of China Zhou Enlai.
In the late 1970s its [[English language]] service was renamed '''Radio Moscow World Service'''. The project was launched and supervised by a long-time Radio Moscow journalist and manager Alexander Evstafiev. Later a North American service, African service and even a "UK & Ireland" service (all in English) operated for a few hours per day alongside the regular (24 Hour) English World Service as well as services in other languages, the "Radio Peace and Progress" service and a small number of programmes from some of the USSR republics.


At that time, the main purpose of all international broadcasting departments was to promote the ideas of socialism. This principle remained fundamental until the beginning of the perestroika and glasnost reforms.
Broadcasting Soviet [[information]] was Radio Moscow's primary function. All programmes (except for short newsbreaks) had to be cleared by a "Programming Directorate", a form of [[censorship]] that was only removed in 1991.
With the worsening of the international situation and the outbreak of the Second World War, there was a need to launch an information and propaganda campaign aimed at the Russian-speaking population outside of the USSR. The Moscow Speaking department’s Russian section was created at Moscow Radio to be broadcast to foreign countries, and at the beginning of 1940, the first broadcasts in Russian to listeners abroad hit the airwaves. And with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, special broadcasts to residents of territories occupied by Hitler’s troops, to partisan units and resistance movements operating in the enemy rear were organized.


With the outbreak of the Second World War, Moscow Radio entered an ideological battle with the Nazi propaganda. In those years, a special tablet was attached to every receiver produced in Germany, containing the inscription, “Listening to foreign radio stations is a crime against the national security of our people. By order of the Fuhrer, it is punished by close confinement”.
At its peak, Radio Moscow broadcast in over 70 [[language]]s using transmitters in the Soviet Union, [[Eastern Europe]], and [[Cuba]].
But people in both occupied territories, and Germany itself, listened to Moscow at their own risks. Goebbels noted in his personal papers that he had demanded cruel punishment not only for Moscow Radio listeners, but also for their relatives and close friends.


Participants of the anti-fascist resistance regularly spoke through the microphones of Moscow Radio. Among them were Maurice Thorez, Palmiro Togliatti, Wilhelm Pieck, Walter Ulbricht, Georgi Dimitrov, Vasil Kolarov, Klement Gottwald and Dolores Ibarruri.
Radio Moscow's [[interval signal]] was 'My Country's Vast' (Russian: ''Широка страна моя родная''), played on [[tubular bell|chime]]s. This has been changed to ''[[Pictures at an Exhibition]]'' by [[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky]] in 1991. A move has been made in an attempt to drift away from the image of the communist propaganda media.


On April 14, 1942, radio broadcasting to Japan was launched. The Soviet leaders assigned the international broadcasting department with the task of keeping Japan from joining the war and siding with Nazi Germany.
One of the most popular programmes on air in the 1980s, due to its informal presentation that contrasted with most other shows, was the 'Listeners’ Request Club' hosted by prominent radio presenter [[Vasily Strelnikov]]. Another popular feature which began on Radio Moscow was ''Moscow Mailbag'', which answered listeners' questions in English about the former Soviet Union and later about Russia. For almost five decades, between 1957 and 2005, the programme was presented by [[Joe Adamov]], who was known for his command of the English language and his good humour. Radio Moscow continued to broadcast until the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, and was renamed the '''World Service of the Voice of Russia'''.
During the years of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow Radio doubled its number of broadcasting languages: 152 programs in 28 languages were broadcasted daily. Subsequently they were joined by the Mongolian language in 1946, Vietnamese in 1951, Pashto in 1957 and Dari in 1967.


After the war, Moscow Radio remained an important instrument of the anti-imperialist propaganda of the USSR during the Cold War.
==Transmission network==
The Voice of Russia continues to broadcast to most of the world on shortwave and mediumwave, satellite, via the [[WRN Broadcast|World Radio Network]] and via the Internet. Interestingly, broadcasts with strong signals targeted at Europe continue. Many major international broadcasters no longer target shortwave broadcasts at Europe, including the Cold War rivals of Radio Moscow: the [[Voice of America]] and [[BBC World Service]] ([[China Radio International]] continues, and has expanded, short wave broadcasts to Europe).


On October 28, 1962, a broadcast from Moscow hit the global airwaves. This broadcast contained Soviet leader Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev’s response to the urgent telegram from US President John Kennedy sent the day before, thus settling the dangerous Cuban missile crisis.
Radio Moscow's and Voice of Russia's shortwave (SW) transmission network has never been equalled in its transmission power, directivity and reach. During the station's peak in the 1980s the same programmes could often be heard on anything up to forty frequencies on the (heavily overcrowded) shortwave bands although the station never published its complete or accurate time/frequency schedule. It is unclear whether the station's staff knew what freqencies it was broadcasting on.


In the 1970s, Moscow Radio correspondents worked in and conducted reports from hot spots in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. One of Moscow Radio’s correspondents in Chile, Leonard Kosichev, was arrested during the coup in the country. His apartment was searched and attempts to contact the embassy were harshly suppressed by the Chilean police. After the Soviet Embassy finally managed to rescue the Moscow Radio correspondent and send him home, the preserved recording of Salvador Allende’s last address to the Chilean people became his reward. Then it was broadcasted in Moscow on television and radio programs, including on the international airwaves.
The transmission network consisted of at least 30 high-power transmission sites (West to East, with first transmission dates):
* [[Transmitter Wachenbrunn|Wachenbrunn]], [[East Germany]] (1000 kW carrier power, MW)
* [[Bolshakovo transmitter|Bolshakovo]] (2500 kW carrier power, MW)
* [[Saint Petersburg]] (1961) [16 × 200 kW SW]
* [[Moscow]] (5 known high-power SW transmission sites)
* [[Krasnodar]] (1967) [8 × 100 kW SW, 8 × 500 kW SW]
* [[Volgograd]]
* [[Kamo, Armenia]] (site ceded to [[Armenia]], but operated by RMOC)
* [[Samara, Russia|Samara]] [6 × 250 kW SW, 3 × 200 kW SW, 7 × 100 kW SW]
* [[Yekaterinburg]] [9 × 100 kW SW]
* [[Tashkent]] (1000 kW carrier power?)
* [[Dushanbe]] (1000 kW carrier power)
* [[Omsk]]
* [[Novosibirsk]] (1956) [17 × 100 kW SW, but 1000 kW carrier power capable]
* [[Irkutsk]] ([[Angarsk]], 1971) [2 × 100 kW, 4 × 250 kW SW, 8 × 500-kW)
* [[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]]
* [[Yakutsk]]
* [[Vladivostok]] (1000 kW carrier power?)
* [[Komsomolsk-on-Amur]]
* [[Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky|Petropavlovsk]]-[[Magadan]] (1000 kW carrier power?)
* [[Havana, Cuba]] at one time in 1980, Radio Moscow had transmissions on the [[Medium Wave]] broadcast on 600 kHz from Cuba which reached the Caribbean islands and US State of Florida


Here are just a few of the many people who have worked at the radio station throughout the years: Valentin Zorin, Vladimir Pozner, Vlad Listyev, Alexander Lyubimov, Oleg Vokulovsky, Dmitry Zakharov, Mikhail Taratuta, Igor Fesunenko, Vladimir Tsvetov, Yevgeny Kiselev, Dmitry Kiselev and Yevgeny Primakov, who began his career in the Arabic department.
Voice of Russia broadcast in short, medium and longwave formats, in DAB+, DRM, HD-Radio, as well as through cable, satellite transmission and in mobile networks. VOR’s Internet coverage comes in as many as 38 languages


Voice of Russia announced on 1 July 2004, the successful implementation, and planned expansion, of its DRM broadcasts on short-wave and medium-wave. In September 2009 the [[Russian State Commission for Radio Frequencies]], the national regulator of broadcasting, has decided on the DRM has the standard for mediumwave and shortwave services.


===Modern Times===
Starting in March 2013, VOR has been broadcasting in the digital [[HD Radio]] format in Washington and Chicago, and in Switzerland using its digital [[DAB+]] multiplex.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_11/Voice-of-Russia-expands-digital-broadcasting-coverage-in-US-Europe/| title =Voice of Russia expands digital broadcasting coverage in US, Europe| work =Voice of Russia| accessdate = 11 June 2013}}</ref>


The Voice of Russia State Broadcasting Company was set up December 22, 1993 under decree 2258 by the Russian president on the creation of the Efir Russian State Television and Radio Center and the Voice of Russia Russian State Broadcasting Company on the basis of the International Radio Moscow creative association.
== Broadcast languages ==

{{As of | 2011}} the Voice of Russia broadcasts in 39 languages, including:
On January 12, 1996, under Russian government decree 12 on the “Voice of Russia” Russian State Broadcasting Company, the “Voice of Russia” Russian State Broadcasting Company was transferred to the department for Federal Television and Radio Broadcasting Service in the Russian Federation.
{|width=45%
|-valign=top
|width=15%|
*[[Albanian language|Albanian]]
*[[Armenian language|Armenian]]
*[[Arabic language|Arabic]]
*[[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]]
*[[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]
*[[Mandarin Chinese|Chinese]]
*[[Czech language|Czech]]
*[[Dari (Eastern Persian)|Dari]]
*[[English language|English]]
*[[French language|French]]
*[[German language|German]]
|width=15%|
*[[Hausa language|Hausa]]
*[[Hindi]]
*[[Italian language|Italian]]
*[[Japanese language|Japanese]]
*[[Kurdish language|Kurdish]]
*[[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]]
*[[Moldovan language|Moldovan]]
*[[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]
*[[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]
*[[Pashto language|Pashto]]
*[[Persian language|Persian]]
|width=15%|
*[[Polish language|Polish]]
*[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
*[[Russian language|Russian]]
*[[Serbian language|Serbian]]
*[[Spanish language|Spanish]]
*[[Turkish language|Turkish]]
*[[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
*[[Urdu language|Urdu]]
*[[Uzbek language|Uzbek]]
|}


Many changes have taken place in the company in the past years. In 1996, Internet broadcasting was included in addition to programs that were aired. The “Russian Service” appeared and new programs were introduced such as; Discussion with Konstantin Kosachev, World Politics (presenter – political scientist Igor Panarin), Russia in Global Politics (presenter – political scientist Feodor Lukyanov), Military and Political Analysis (presenter – editor-in-chief of the Natsionalnaya Oborona magazine Igor Korotchenko), the Theory of Illusion (presenter – Armen Gasparyan) and the Cross-examination (presenters – Vice President of “Mediasoyuz” Elena Zelinskaya and prominent journalist Vladimir Averin).
== VOR output compared to other broadcasters ==
For a comparison of VOR (RM) to other broadcasters see
VoR has actively been exploring satellite and digital broadcasting and has turned into a global multimedia broadcaster that remains in touch with audiences across the world.


At present, the VoR is among the five most popular international radio stations with an audience of over 109 million listeners in 160 countries.
{{External program hours}}


It provides local broadcasting in 27 countries covering 225 cities has five foreign bureaus in Washington, London, Rio-de-Janeiro, Istanbul and Kiev and a network of correspondents across the world.
In 1996, the USA's international radio consisted of 992 hours per week by VOA, 667 hpw by RFE/RL, and 162 hpw by Radio Marti.
The Voice of Russia programmes can be received in 38 languages for a total of 178 hours a day in short and medium waves, FM and AM long wave and digital formats of DAB/DAB+, DRM, HD-Radio, as well as through cellular phones equipped with relevant devices in 33 languages. The Voice of Russia maintains websites in 38 languages on the Internet. Moreover, it communicates daily with its listeners on social networks: Facebook, Twitter, VKontakte, YouTube, Google+ and Weibo. The overall audience of the broadcasting company on social networks is estimated at 8 million. In all, the Voice of Russia programmes are accessible in 44 languages.


The Voice of Russia is a member of the NAB, National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, the EBU, European Broadcasters Union, the DRM, Digital Radio Mondiale, the CIBAR, International Conference of the Services for Audience Study of International Broadcasters, the ABU, Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, the AIB, Association of International Broadcasting and the World DMB International organization.
== USSR Shortwave broadcasting milestones and innovations ==
The USSR pioneered the use of [[HRS antenna|HRS]] 8/8/1 [[antenna (radio)|antennas]] (horizontal dipole curtain, eight columns, eight rows, with electrically steerable pattern) for highly targeted shortwave broadcasting long before HRS 12/6/1 technology became available in the west. HRS 8/8/1 curtain arrays create a 10-degree beam of shortwave energy, and can provide a highly audible signal to a target area some 7,000&nbsp;km away.


Many journalists of the radio station are the winners of Russian and international awards. The Voice of Russia programmes have won the Radiomania national competition in broadcasting several times. In 2013, the Theory of Illusion, presented by prominent journalist and the author of historical research works Armen Gasparyan, won the main prize of the “Educational Program” competition. In 2012, the Voice of Russi” won the annual prize of the Union of Journalists in Turkey for the “Best Information Programme” - the Evening Mail with Atilla Gyuner. In 2008, the radio broadcasting company won the Runet Prize for the nomination of Runet beyond RU.
The full extent of Russia's shortwave antenna directivity research is unknown, although it is understood that some ionospheric heating experiments were carried out at the Kamo and Dushanbe relay stations in the late 1980s to 1990.


HRS 6/4/1 and HRS 12/6/1 curtain arrays are sold by an U.S. company TCI [http://tcibr.com/] in California. [[Marconi Corporation plc|Marconi]] (UK) sold two HRS 6/4/1 antennas to [[Voice of America]]-[[Broadcasting Board of Governors|BBG]] before terminating all sales and service for its [[longwave]]/mediumwave and shortwave products in the late 1990s.


==Frequency Schedule==
The full list of available shortwave relay stations is only known by the Russian Ministry of Communications. These transmission facilities can be rented by contractual agreement. The Voice of America, [[Deutsche Welle]] and other international broadcasters have leased facilities in the past and currently possess lease agreements with Russia's MOC.
The Voice of Russia English language frequency schedule can be found at:
http://rus.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/frequencies/


THE VOICE OF RUSSIA WORLD SERVICE FREQUENCIES:
All shortwave relay station facilities in Russia and the former USSR are owned and operated by the Russian Ministry of Communications, with a few exceptions where the facilities were ceded to national governments.


Washington DC
==See also==
WTOP-HD2 103.5 2FM
{{Portal|Russia|Radio}}
WZHF 1390 AM
*[[Eastern Bloc information dissemination]]
New York City
*[[Radio Wolga]] - radio station for Soviet Soldiers in former [[East Germany]], until 1990.
WNSW 1430 AM
Miami
WKIS-HD2 99.9-2FM
Chicago
WILV-HD2 100.3-2FM
DAB broadcasts - in the UK, Switzerland and Italy
Hot Bird 13A satellite broadcasts for Europe 24/7


==Reference Information==
==References==
{{reflist}}


Address: No. 25, str.1, Ulitsa Pyatnitskaya, Moscow
==External links==
Chairman – Andrei Georgievich Bystritsky
*[http://rus.ruvr.ru/ Voice of Russia World Service website (in Russian)]
*[http://english.ruvr.ru/ Voice of Russia World Service website (in English)]
*[http://www.rttv.ru/ Russia Today TV (in English)]
*[http://www.dxarchive.com/downloads/international_broadcasters/80xxxx_radio_moscow_rec_from_cuba_600khz_in_key_west_c60_90_kb.mp3 Around 30 min Audio from Radio Moscow c. 20 May 1980].


==Footnote==
{{World Radio Network}}
{{Eastern Bloc media}}
{{Telecommunications}}


1. The “Voice of Russia” programs:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voice Of Russia}}
http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/alf_programs/
[[Category:Eastern Bloc media]]
[[Category:External services (broadcasting)]]
[[Category:Soviet radio]]
[[Category:Russian media]]
[[Category:Russian radio]]
[[Category:Radio networks]]
[[Category:Propaganda organisations]]
[[Category:Communist propaganda]]
[[Category:Soviet brands]]
[[Category:Media companies of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Radio during World War II]]
[[Category:Arabic-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Armenian-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Azerbaijani-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Chinese-language radio stations]]
[[Category:German-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Greek-language radio stations]]
[[Category:French-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Korean-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Portuguese-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Persian-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Romanian-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Russian-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Spanish-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Turkish-language radio stations]]
[[Category:Propaganda radio broadcasts]]
[[Category:1929 establishments in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Radio stations in London]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1929]]

Revision as of 12:22, 29 July 2013

Voice of Russia Radio
Country Russian Federation
Broadcasting time 24 hours a day
Broadcasting area Worldwide
Start of broadcasting October 29, 1929
Owner Government of the Russian Federation
Websites World Service http://english.ruvr.ru/, US Edition http://voicerussia.com/, UK Edition http://ruvr.co.uk/
Online broadcasting yes


The Federal State Institution “Russian State Radio Broadcasting Company Voice of Russia” (FGBU RGRK Voice of Russia) is a state-run radio broadcaster that has been broadcasting to audiences all over the world since October 29, 1929. It is the oldest radio station in Russia.

The Voice of Russia Radio Broadcasting Company aims to introduce foreign audiences to Russia, present the official point of view on international events, to maintain dialogue with compatriots abroad and to popularize the Russian language and culture. The Voice of Russia today is one of the largest multimedia outlets with programs available in 44 languages. VoR programming is transmitted on short and medium wavelengths, FM and AM bands, in the DAB/DAB+, DRM and HD-Radio formats, on cable networks, satellite channels, on the Internet and on mobile devices.

The Voice of Russia is among the top five international radio stations with a total audience of 109 million in 160 countries.

History

The history of the Voice of Russia dates back to October 29, 1929, when Moscow launched regular radio broadcasts to foreign countries. The first programs were in German. They were followed by programs in French and English, which came out the same year. Moscow Radio, as the station was known back then, became the world’s first international broadcaster. The BBC first went on the air only three years later, while the Voice of America appeared seven years later.

History

Antenna of "Voice of Russia" in Wachenbrunn, Germany
Radio Moscow pennant from late 1980s
Stamp of 1979

The Voice of Russia radio station traces its history back to October 29, 1929, when regular broadcasting from Moscow to foreign countries began. The first programs aired were in German, and the same year the French and English languages were added. Moscow Radio, as the VoR was called back then, was the world's first international radio. The second international radio station, the BBC, appeared on the air only three years later, and the Voice of America - 7 years later.

On November 7, 1929, the radio station was the first to organize a live broadcast from the Red Square in Moscow, where celebrations in honor of the anniversary of the October Revolution were taking place. The broadcasting was conducted in two languages - German and French. Correspondents worked on the stands, interviewing foreign guests, and reporting about all the festivities in Moscow.

In 1930, Moscow Radio’s broadcasting in German, French and English became daily. Literary programs with the participation of prominent cultural figures speaking foreign languages were added to the radio station’s programming. During the same period the first broadcasts of the Bolshoi theatre’s operas were launched. A presenter would read the explanatory text directly from a theatrical box.

As a rule, the broadcasting was live, because in those years the quality of recording was still extremely low. Another 10 languages were added to its international broadcasting in the 1930s. On July 1, 1940, Moscow Radio started broadcasting in Chinese. The first programs broadcasted to China were read by Deng Yingchao, the wife of the future Prime Minister of China Zhou Enlai.

At that time, the main purpose of all international broadcasting departments was to promote the ideas of socialism. This principle remained fundamental until the beginning of the perestroika and glasnost reforms.

With the worsening of the international situation and the outbreak of the Second World War, there was a need to launch an information and propaganda campaign aimed at the Russian-speaking population outside of the USSR. The Moscow Speaking department’s Russian section was created at Moscow Radio to be broadcast to foreign countries, and at the beginning of 1940, the first broadcasts in Russian to listeners abroad hit the airwaves. And with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, special broadcasts to residents of territories occupied by Hitler’s troops, to partisan units and resistance movements operating in the enemy rear were organized.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, Moscow Radio entered an ideological battle with the Nazi propaganda. In those years, a special tablet was attached to every receiver produced in Germany, containing the inscription, “Listening to foreign radio stations is a crime against the national security of our people. By order of the Fuhrer, it is punished by close confinement”. But people in both occupied territories, and Germany itself, listened to Moscow at their own risks. Goebbels noted in his personal papers that he had demanded cruel punishment not only for Moscow Radio listeners, but also for their relatives and close friends.

Participants of the anti-fascist resistance regularly spoke through the microphones of Moscow Radio. Among them were Maurice Thorez, Palmiro Togliatti, Wilhelm Pieck, Walter Ulbricht, Georgi Dimitrov, Vasil Kolarov, Klement Gottwald and Dolores Ibarruri.

On April 14, 1942, radio broadcasting to Japan was launched. The Soviet leaders assigned the international broadcasting department with the task of keeping Japan from joining the war and siding with Nazi Germany. During the years of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow Radio doubled its number of broadcasting languages: 152 programs in 28 languages were broadcasted daily. Subsequently they were joined by the Mongolian language in 1946, Vietnamese in 1951, Pashto in 1957 and Dari in 1967.

After the war, Moscow Radio remained an important instrument of the anti-imperialist propaganda of the USSR during the Cold War.

On October 28, 1962, a broadcast from Moscow hit the global airwaves. This broadcast contained Soviet leader Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev’s response to the urgent telegram from US President John Kennedy sent the day before, thus settling the dangerous Cuban missile crisis.

In the 1970s, Moscow Radio correspondents worked in and conducted reports from hot spots in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. One of Moscow Radio’s correspondents in Chile, Leonard Kosichev, was arrested during the coup in the country. His apartment was searched and attempts to contact the embassy were harshly suppressed by the Chilean police. After the Soviet Embassy finally managed to rescue the Moscow Radio correspondent and send him home, the preserved recording of Salvador Allende’s last address to the Chilean people became his reward. Then it was broadcasted in Moscow on television and radio programs, including on the international airwaves.

Here are just a few of the many people who have worked at the radio station throughout the years: Valentin Zorin, Vladimir Pozner, Vlad Listyev, Alexander Lyubimov, Oleg Vokulovsky, Dmitry Zakharov, Mikhail Taratuta, Igor Fesunenko, Vladimir Tsvetov, Yevgeny Kiselev, Dmitry Kiselev and Yevgeny Primakov, who began his career in the Arabic department.


Modern Times

The Voice of Russia State Broadcasting Company was set up December 22, 1993 under decree 2258 by the Russian president on the creation of the Efir Russian State Television and Radio Center and the Voice of Russia Russian State Broadcasting Company on the basis of the International Radio Moscow creative association.

On January 12, 1996, under Russian government decree 12 on the “Voice of Russia” Russian State Broadcasting Company, the “Voice of Russia” Russian State Broadcasting Company was transferred to the department for Federal Television and Radio Broadcasting Service in the Russian Federation.

Many changes have taken place in the company in the past years. In 1996, Internet broadcasting was included in addition to programs that were aired. The “Russian Service” appeared and new programs were introduced such as; Discussion with Konstantin Kosachev, World Politics (presenter – political scientist Igor Panarin), Russia in Global Politics (presenter – political scientist Feodor Lukyanov), Military and Political Analysis (presenter – editor-in-chief of the Natsionalnaya Oborona magazine Igor Korotchenko), the Theory of Illusion (presenter – Armen Gasparyan) and the Cross-examination (presenters – Vice President of “Mediasoyuz” Elena Zelinskaya and prominent journalist Vladimir Averin).

VoR has actively been exploring satellite and digital broadcasting and has turned into a global multimedia broadcaster that remains in touch with audiences across the world.

At present, the VoR is among the five most popular international radio stations with an audience of over 109 million listeners in 160 countries.

It provides local broadcasting in 27 countries covering 225 cities has five foreign bureaus in Washington, London, Rio-de-Janeiro, Istanbul and Kiev and a network of correspondents across the world. The Voice of Russia programmes can be received in 38 languages for a total of 178 hours a day in short and medium waves, FM and AM long wave and digital formats of DAB/DAB+, DRM, HD-Radio, as well as through cellular phones equipped with relevant devices in 33 languages. The Voice of Russia maintains websites in 38 languages on the Internet. Moreover, it communicates daily with its listeners on social networks: Facebook, Twitter, VKontakte, YouTube, Google+ and Weibo. The overall audience of the broadcasting company on social networks is estimated at 8 million. In all, the Voice of Russia programmes are accessible in 44 languages.

The Voice of Russia is a member of the NAB, National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, the EBU, European Broadcasters Union, the DRM, Digital Radio Mondiale, the CIBAR, International Conference of the Services for Audience Study of International Broadcasters, the ABU, Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, the AIB, Association of International Broadcasting and the World DMB International organization.

Many journalists of the radio station are the winners of Russian and international awards. The Voice of Russia programmes have won the Radiomania national competition in broadcasting several times. In 2013, the Theory of Illusion, presented by prominent journalist and the author of historical research works Armen Gasparyan, won the main prize of the “Educational Program” competition. In 2012, the Voice of Russi” won the annual prize of the Union of Journalists in Turkey for the “Best Information Programme” - the Evening Mail with Atilla Gyuner. In 2008, the radio broadcasting company won the Runet Prize for the nomination of Runet beyond RU.


Frequency Schedule

The Voice of Russia English language frequency schedule can be found at: http://rus.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/frequencies/

THE VOICE OF RUSSIA WORLD SERVICE FREQUENCIES:

Washington DC WTOP-HD2 103.5 2FM WZHF 1390 AM New York City WNSW 1430 AM Miami WKIS-HD2 99.9-2FM Chicago WILV-HD2 100.3-2FM DAB broadcasts - in the UK, Switzerland and Italy Hot Bird 13A satellite broadcasts for Europe 24/7

Reference Information

Address: No. 25, str.1, Ulitsa Pyatnitskaya, Moscow Chairman – Andrei Georgievich Bystritsky

Footnote

1. The “Voice of Russia” programs: http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/alf_programs/

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