International broadcasting

History

The sector of transfers for foreign workers to the USSR at All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions radio station appeared in 1929. The first transfer aired on October 29, 1929 in German.

In 1933 the radio station which gained fame as Moscow radio (later Voice of Russia), or broadcasting to foreign countries of Moscow radio, broadcast already in 8 foreign languages via several powerful short-wave transmitters.

The Soviet Russia was the first country which began purposeful broadcasting in foreign languages. The closest competitor – "Imperial (nowadays World) service of British broadcasting Corporation" - began regular broadcastings on short waves only on December 19, 1932. However, to be fair, It should be noted that experimental programs on short waves for the abroad of "Imperial BBC service" began still on November 11, 1927. The championship of the Soviet Russia in the international broadcasting quite often with pride was mentioned by the Soviet and Russian propagandists.

In 1941 Radio of Moscow broadcast via heavy-duty transmitters already in 25 foreign languages. All pre-war years, and that is especially improbable, all World War II, no one from the largest countries of Europe and America (except for France during the pre-war period) did not adjust the state broadcasting to foreign countries in Russian.

Broadcasting in Russian of other countries and counteraction of the USSR

What is surprising, did not begin to broadcast to the Soviet Union in pre-war and military years also Nazi Germany. The official broadcasting to foreign countries of the Third Reich known as Weltrundfunksender (The world radio), and locating before the war by the most powerful in the world a short-wave transmitting center of Tseezene did not start broadcastings in Russian. And it in spite of the fact that by 1939 Germany broadcast in the main world languages, including, for example, Arab. There are data on what Germany relayed during war of a broadcast of several pro-German anti-Bolshevist movements in Russian.

The second largest broadcaster of that time, "The imperial BBC service", also did not broadcast in Russian all pre-war and military period, except for June 22, 1941 when it transferred short transfer in Russian with the translation of the speech of Churchill in which the prime minister expressed support of the USSR in the begun war against Germany.

Transmissions in Russian before World War II were broadcast from Paris (up to defeat of France in 1940) the state short-wave station Paris Ondes Courtes ("Paris on short waves"), and then Paris Mondial ("The international Paris"). Besides, news in Russian during the pre-war period were broadcast by Radio Prague, and during the Finnish war of Radio of Finland from the transmitting station in the city of Lahti. During World War II in Russian only Radio of Tokyo and the station of the government of Chiang Kai-shek in China broadcast.

Long enough foreign countries doubted whether they will hear them in the USSR, whether there is there still "the living thinking audience". Let's note that during the period from 1941 to 1945 short-wave radio receivers in the USSR were prohibited, and all their owners were obliged to hand over the devices in security service. It was not even in Nazi Germany where listening of foreign transfers was forbidden, but nobody withdrew receivers. Therefore listening of foreign programs, generally from London, prospered in all territory of a Reich. Besides, broadcasting of allies in Russian was impossible because of extremely negative reaction of the Soviet government. After attempt of BBC to begin broadcastings in Russian in 1941 the British government received expressions of discontent from Embassy of the USSR in London.

During the celebration of the 80 anniversary of the Finnish radio, the Russian broadcasting from Helsinki within transfer on the history of radio station published unique audio recordings with the certificate of noises which the USSR created to internal Finnish broadcasting on an average waves already 1939. On records it is heard as reading news by the announcer of Radio of Finland is suddenly broken by broadcasting in which well trained male voice in Finnish with accent urges to overthrow capitalist clique in Helsinki.

Began systematic creation of radio interferences of the USSR after 1947, and these noises which received the name "muffling" were directed against the opened broadcasting of a number of the western countries in Russian and other languages of the people of the USSR. The USSR also "brought order" to the East European air, subjecting to muffling some western stations in the East European languages.

Later the Soviet Union suppressed also broadcasting to foreign countries in Russian of the former allies on a socialist camp - Albania and China. It is interesting that Moscow radio practically never faced counter full-scale muffling. Only one European precedent when Franco's government some time suppressed transfers in Spanish from Moscow is known. Also messages about muffling of transfers by Maoist China from Moscow in Chinese arrived.

1980: Domination of the USSR

By the beginning of the 1980th years broadcasting to foreign countries of Moscow radio by quantity of languages of broadcasting reached astronomical digit 75. At the same time the second largest inoveshchatel of the world of Voice of America by 1985 had only 42 languages of broadcasting, and "The world BBC service" never broadcast more to the post-war period than in 38 languages. Among 75 languages of broadcasting of Radio Moscow there were the most exotic. For example, only to India, except Hindi, broadcasting was conducted in several languages.