Tag Archives: Voice of Russia

No news is no news: a response from the Voice of Russia

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Kremilin (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

I wrote the Voice of Russia following the suggestion that their broadcasting on shortwave radio may soon end. A response has now arrived from the Letters Department of the VOR’s World Service.  And the current word?  Very similar to that of my previous post, though VOR confesses that the topic is presently being talked about:

This is to…inform you that the information about the presumable cancellation by the Voice of Russia of shortwave broadcasts as of January 2014 does not come from VOR’s official sources, therefore at this point we can neither confirm nor deny it since the issue is currently under discussion.

In other words, stay tuned…

Not exactly a positive note–no news is no news–but I am impressed that they are taking the time to respond to each inquiry so quickly.

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Voice Of Russia’s response to reported shortwave closure

Voice of Russia Antenna site in Wachenbrunn, Germany (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Voice of Russia Antenna site in Wachenbrunn, Germany (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Dominik, for sharing email responses he received from the Voice of Russia regarding news of their closure.

Below are two quotes from two different responses:

“Unfortunately, so far we have no official information as regards the cancellation of shortwave broadcasting. However, we cannot rule out such a scenario for the future, since currently the VOR is speedily introducing modern day technologies of radio and internet broadcasting.”

“Thank you very much for your letter and for your concern about the presumable cancellation of shortwave broadcasting by the Voice of Russia. As I said earlier, so far we have received no official information in this regard, however, we keep receiving letters from concerned listeners. Thank you very much for your support.”

Looks like they’re neither confirming nor denying the news we posted earlier.

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Voice of Russia to cease shortwave radio service

Voice of Russia Antenna site in Wachenbrunn, Germany (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Voice of Russia Antenna site in Wachenbrunn, Germany (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

It appears the Voice of Russia will cease shortwave radio service on January 1st, 2014. According to this article on RiaNovosti, the shortwave service is closing due to “funding  cuts.”

I have listened to the Voice of Russia since they were known as Radio Moscow in the Cold War era. But they’ve been around much longer than the Cold War, indeed, they’ve been on the air since 1922 with their first transmitter station (RV-1) in the Moscow region.

Needless to say, I’m sad to see them leave the shortwave spectrum.

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Voice of Russia: World celebrates all-uniting role of radio

WorldRadioDay(Source: Voice of Russia)

February 13 is World Radio Day. It’s a young holiday, just two years old, established on the initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2011. Representatives of all of the world’s major radio broadcasters, the Voice of Russia among them, have gathered at the UNESCO’s central headquarters in Paris to celebrate World Radio Day.

February 13 is not a random date. On that day in 1946, Radio UN aired its first broadcast. In his World Radio Day-2013 message, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that as a boy growing up in a poor village after the Korean War with neither phones nor television people still had something that connected them to the world outside their small village – they had radio. Since its invention more than 100 years ago, radio has sparked imagination and opened doors for change, entertaining, informing, promoting democracy and connecting people wherever they are, and “in conflict situations and times of crisis, radio is a lifeline for vulnerable communities,” Ban Ki-moon remarked.

About 95% of all people throughout the globe listen to radio regularly, chief of the UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector Mirta Lourenco told the Voice of Russia:

“Radio remains the most easily accessible mass media. You can listen to it in the remotest corners of the Earth. Thanks to radio, people who cannot read or write have access to information. Radio plays a crucial role in emergencies, natural disaster warning and during rescue operations. For the UNESCO, World Radio Day is the acknowledgment of the tremendous use of which radio has been to humanity over more than a century.”[…]

Read the full article at the Voice of Russia website.

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CNN reports on new Voice of Russia studios in DC

Many long-time shortwave listeners may find it ironic that the likes of Voice of Russia now broadcasts from a studio in downtown Washington DC. I just read this news article posted on CNN about VOR’s new presence:

Jordan Hostetter doesn’t know it, but he’s a target. He’s a young professional living in Washington, curious about international events and listens to the radio while driving to work — just the kind of person Voice of Russia radio is trying to reach.

Changing American hearts and minds about Russia has been Voice of Russia’s mission since it first went on the air in 1929, broadcasting from Moscow via short-wave radio. It still does use short wave but with the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, that seems like a blast from the past.

It goes on to mention how, long-time rival, Voice of America has gone totally digital. Not totally true, in fact, but VOA is putting a major effort into moving off of the shortwave bands. As we mentioned previously, in their shortwave sunset plans, the BBG plans to keep shortwave alive in parts of the world where free speech is suppressed and where shortwave is the only option. They will, most likely, rent broadcasting time from other providers and shut down VOA-run facilities.

What was notable in this CNN article was a tidbit about a VOA attempt to do what their Russian counterpart is doing:

VOA says it tried to get a license to […] broadcast on local Russian radio in Russian to Russians. But Elez Biberaj, VOA’s Eurasia division director, says it was prevented from affiliating with Russian radio and television stations “because of threats and because of the pressure that the government brings on license holders.”

So, I guess, VOA will take on this objective with a web presence?

No doubt, our international broadcasting field is changing. I believe we’ll see more broadcasters following VOR and CRI’s local vector. Perhaps, in fact, this is just what our AM band needs.

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