{"id":65927,"date":"2026-05-01T06:17:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=65927"},"modified":"2026-05-01T06:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:17:25","slug":"shortwave-memories-go-go-radio-moscow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/shortwave-memories-go-go-radio-moscow\/","title":{"rendered":"Shortwave Memories — Go Go Radio Moscow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by Karl D. Forth<\/b><\/p>\n

Radio Moscow didn\u2019t seem confrontational. We\u2019re here, their attitude seemed to be, and we\u2019re going to offer our opinion on things, which you may or may not like.<\/p>\n

Looking at the World Radio-TV Handbook in the early 1970s, Radio Moscow was on dozens of frequencies from many different transmitters thousands of miles apart. The Far Eastern transmitters were 5,000 miles from Moscow.<\/p>\n

In 1974, Radio Moscow offered programs in 64 languages, along with Russian by Radio, and a transcription service. U.S.S.R. was one of the largest broadcasters, with shortwave transmissions in many languages, from Bambara to Urdu.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019d like first-hand information about the Soviet Union, its developed socialist society, the Soviet way of life and the Soviet view on major international issues tune in to Radio Moscow,\u201d an ad for the broadcaster stated.<\/p>\n

I thought that Radio Moscow offered a straightforward outlook, and they tried to make the programs truthful but were sometimes selective in what was covered. Their job was to promote progress that was being achieved in the Soviet Union, and to criticize the West.<\/p>\n

(If you\u2019re interested in the Soviet viewpoint from that time, an interesting book to read is Parting With Illusions<\/a>, by Vladimir Pozner.)<\/p>\n

One subject that got under Radio Moscow\u2019s skin was NATO\u2019s deployment of short-range cruise missiles in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

Later, there was Vasily\u2019s Weekend, broadcast about 1990 and 1991, in the last days of the Soviet Union. The show, hosted by one Vasily Strelnikov, a Russian who had grown up mostly in America, was an informal English-language program of popular music and listener requests, a segment that must have stood in contrast to the station\u2019s other programs.<\/p>\n

Moscow\u2019s exit from shortwave was sudden. It was renamed the Voice of Russia in 1993, after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The shortwave radio broadcasts were ended completely by Vladimir Putin in 2014.<\/p>\n

Go Go Radio Moscow was an actual 45 single by Nikita the K, probably the only 45 record about a shortwave station. It was an American record and was not, as far as we know, ever played on Radio Moscow. (For the record, there is a rock band called Radio Moscow based in Iowa, not the Russian capital.)<\/p>\n

Karl D. Forth has been interested in radio and DXing for more than 50 years. This story was included in the book Radio Nights and Distant Signals<\/a><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Please note: all Amazon links are affiliate links that support the SWLing Post at no cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Karl D. Forth Radio Moscow didn\u2019t seem confrontational. We\u2019re here, their attitude seemed to be, and we\u2019re going to offer our opinion on things, which you may or may not like. Looking at the World Radio-TV Handbook in the early 1970s, Radio Moscow was on dozens of frequencies from many different transmitters thousands of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,305,288,7566,43],"tags":[11102,768,5751,3224],"class_list":["post-65927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-radio-memories","category-shortwave-radio","tag-karl-d-forth","tag-radio-moscow","tag-shortwave-memories","tag-vasily-strelnikov"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-h9l","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43380,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/radio-waves-more-solar-minimum-cold-war-moscow-c-19-ham-radio-event-and-a-wwii-code-breaker-is-sk\/","url_meta":{"origin":65927,"position":0},"title":"Radio Waves: More Solar Minimum, Cold War Moscow, C-19 Ham Radio Event, and a WWII Code-Breaker is SK","author":"Thomas","date":"May 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Enigma-Machine.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Enigma-Machine.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Enigma-Machine.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Enigma-Machine.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19408,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/shortwave-radio-recordings-radio-moscow-1984\/","url_meta":{"origin":65927,"position":1},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Moscow 1984","author":"Thomas","date":"June 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019ve just posted yet another excellent recording by Jim Jordan to the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. This Cold War recording of Radio Moscow dates back to September 19, 1984. Jim notes: A nice Cold War piece from Radio Moscow on the double defection of the Soviet journalist Oleg Bitov. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Soviet_Union_-_Russian_SFSR_(1936).svg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Soviet_Union_-_Russian_SFSR_1936.svg_-1024x651.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Soviet_Union_-_Russian_SFSR_1936.svg_-1024x651.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Soviet_Union_-_Russian_SFSR_1936.svg_-1024x651.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34825,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/shortwave-archive-1979-radio-moscow-mailbag-studio-recordings\/","url_meta":{"origin":65927,"position":2},"title":"Shortwave Archive: 1979 Radio Moscow Mailbag Studio Recordings","author":"Thomas","date":"November 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've been a shortwave radio listener since the Cold War, you no doubt remember Radio Moscow's Mailbag program with\u00a0Joe Adamov. Tom Gavaras, a new contributor at the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, recently shared a series of seven Radio Moscow studio recordings and noted: These recordings were originally provided to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Reel-to-reel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Reel-to-reel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Reel-to-reel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Reel-to-reel.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11922,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/shortwave-radio-recordings-mikhail-gorbachevs-1991-resignation-speech-via-radio-moscow\/","url_meta":{"origin":65927,"position":3},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Mikhail Gorbachev’s 1991 resignation speech via Radio Moscow","author":"Thomas","date":"January 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the advantages of hosting a contributor-driven shortwave radio audio archive, is receiving off-air recordings of defining moments in our world history. This is certainly one of them. SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, writes: \"I've started to convert some of my old cassette shortwave recordings to mp3 files. I've uncovered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gorbachev_and_Reagan_1987-012","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Gorbachev_and_Reagan_1987-012.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Gorbachev_and_Reagan_1987-012.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Gorbachev_and_Reagan_1987-012.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2891,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/voa-self-censors-in-russian-elections\/","url_meta":{"origin":65927,"position":4},"title":"VOA self-censors in Russian elections","author":"Thomas","date":"March 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This interesting Op Ed piece\u00a0points out that VOA could be in violation of US Public Law 94-350 by adhering to Russian media law with VOA FM broadcasts in Moscow. Of course, shortwave broadcasts continue to report VOA un-censored news: (Source: Digital Journal) Voice of America and Radio Liberty, funded by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/a999voalogo_2050081722-26491.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15047,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/anniversary-of-sputnik-i-launch-radio-moscow\/","url_meta":{"origin":65927,"position":5},"title":"Anniversary of Sputnik I Launch & Radio Moscow","author":"Thomas","date":"October 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who writes: Yesterday, 4 October, was the anniversary of the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik I, the first artificial Earth satellite. The launch heralded the beginning of the space age. Sputnik I's Doppler-shifted radio transmissions on 20.005 and 40.002 MHz led to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Boat Anchors"","block_context":{"text":"Boat Anchors","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/boat-anchors-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"radio_moscow_sputnik_card_side1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/radio_moscow_sputnik_card_side1-726x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/radio_moscow_sputnik_card_side1-726x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/radio_moscow_sputnik_card_side1-726x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65927"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65929,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65927\/revisions\/65929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}