Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

"Radio Free Europe" and "Radio Liberty" redirect here. For the R.E.M. song, seeRadio Free Europe (song).For the UCKG UK radio station, seeLiberty Radio.

Not to be confused withRadio Freedom.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty(RFE/RL) is anAmerican government-funded media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countriesacrossEastern Europe,Central Asia,theCaucasus,and theMiddle East.Headquartered inPraguesince 1995, RFE/RL operates 21 local bureaus with over 500 core staff, 1,300 freelancers, and 680 employees at its corporate offices inWashington, D.C.Nicola Careem serves as the editor-in-chief.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

RFE/RL official logo
Abbreviation	RFE/RL
Formation	1949 (Radio Free Europe), 1953 (Radio Liberty), 1976 (merger)
Type	501(c)3 organization
Tax ID no.	52-1068522
Purpose	Broadcast Media
Headquarters	Prague Broadcast Center 50°4′44″N14°28′43″E
Location	Prague,Czech Republic
Official language	English Programs are also available in Albanian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Bosnian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Chechen, Crimean Tatar, Dari, Georgian, Hungarian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Pashto, Persian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Tajik, Tatar, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Uzbek In the past also Polish, Czech, Slovak, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and various other languages; seethis list
Owner	U.S. Agency for Global Media
President	Stephen Capus
Vice President and Head of News	Nicola Careem
General Counsel/Secretary	Benjamin Herman
Budget(Fiscal year2021)	$124,300,000
Staff	>1700
Website	RFERL.org svoboda.org rferlo2zxgv23tct66v45s5mecftol5vod3hf4rqbipfp46fqu2q56ad.onion(Accessing link help)

Founded during theCold War,RFE began in 1949 targetingSoviet satellite states,while RL, established in 1951, focused on theSoviet Union.Initially funded covertly by theCIAuntil 1972,the two merged in 1976. RFE/RL was headquartered inMunichfrom 1949 to 1995, with additional broadcasts from Portugal'sGlória do Ribatejountil 1996. Soviet authorities jammed their signals, andcommunist regimesoften infiltrated their operations.

Today, RFE/RL is a private501(c)(3) corporationsupervised by theU.S. Agency for Global Media,which oversees all government-supported international broadcasting. Since theRevolutions of 1989and theSoviet Union's dissolution,the organization's European presence has been reduced.

Early history

Radio Free Europe

Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty Newsroom in Munich, 1994

Radio Free Europe was created and grew in its early years through the efforts of theNational Committee for a Free Europe(NCFE), an anti-communist CIAfront organizationthat was formed byAllen DullesinNew York Cityin 1949.RFE/RL received funds covertly from the CIA until 1972.During RFE's earliest years of existence, the CIA andU.S. Department of Stateissued broad policy directives, and a system evolved where broadcast policy was determined through negotiation between them and RFE staff.

Radio Free Europe received widespread public support from Eisenhower's "Crusade for Freedom"campaign.In 1950, over 16 million Americans signed Eisenhower's "Freedom Scrolls" on a publicity trip to more than 20 U.S. cities and contributed $1,317,000 to the expansion of RFE.

Writer Sig Mickelson said that the NCFE's mission was to support refugees and provide them with a useful outlet for their opinions and creativity while increasing exposure to the modern world.The NCFE divided its program into three parts:exilerelations,radio,and American contacts.

The United States funded a long list of projects to counter the "Communist appeal" among intellectuals in Europe and the developing world.RFE was developed out of a belief that the Cold War would eventually be fought by political rather than military means.American policymakers such asGeorge KennanandJohn Foster Dullesacknowledged that theCold Warwas essentially awar of ideas.The implementation of surrogate radio stations was a key part of the greater psychological war effort.

RFE was modeled afterRadio in the American Sector(RIAS) a U.S. government-sponsored radio service initially intended for Germans living in theAmerican sectorof Berlin. According to Arch Puddington, a former bureau manager for RFE/RL, it was also widely listened to by East Germans.Staffed almost entirely by Germans with minimal U.S. supervision, the station provided free media to German listeners.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Building in Prague-Hagibor, 2008

In January 1950, the NCFE obtained a transmitter base atLampertheim,West Germany, and on July 4 of the same year RFE completed its first broadcast aimed atCzechoslovakia.In late 1950, RFE began to assemble a full-fledged foreign broadcast staff, becoming more than a "mouthpiece for exiles".Teams of journalists were hired for each language service, and an elaborate system ofintelligence gatheringprovided up-to-date broadcast material. Most of this material came from a network of well-connectedémigrésand interviews with travelers and defectors. RFE did not use paid agents inside theIron Curtainand based its bureaus in regions popular with exiles.RFE also extensively monitoredCommunist blocpublications and radio services, creating a body of information that would later serve as a resource for organizations across the world.

In addition to its regular broadcasts, RFE spread broadcasts through a series of operations that distributedleafletsviameteorological balloons;one such operation, Prospero, sent messages to Czechoslovakia.From October 1951 to November 1956, the skies of Central Europe were filled with more than 350,000 balloons carrying over 300 million leaflets, posters, books, and other printed matter.The nature of the leaflets varied, and according to Arch Puddington included messages of support and encouragement "to citizens suffering under communist oppression", "satirical criticisms of communist regimes and leaders", information about dissident movements and human rights campaigns, and messages expressing the solidarity of the American people with the residents of Eastern European nations. Puddington stated that "the project served as a publicity tool to solidify RFE's reputation as an unbiased broadcaster".

Radio Liberty

Antennas of RFE's/RL's transmission facilities on the beach of Pals (Catalonia, Spain) in 2005

Whereas Radio Free Europe broadcast toSoviet satellitecountries, Radio Liberty broadcast to theSoviet Union.Radio Liberty was formed byAmerican Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia(Amcomlib) in 1951.Originally named Radio Liberation from Bolshevism, the station was renamed in 1956 to Radio Liberation in 1956, and received its present name, Radio Liberty after a policy statement emphasizing "liberalization" rather than "liberation".

Radio Liberty began broadcasting fromLampertheimon March 1, 1953, gaining a substantial audience when it covered the death ofJoseph Stalinfour days later. In order to better serve a greater geographic area, RFE supplemented itsshortwave transmissionsfrom Lampertheim with broadcasts from a transmitter base atGlória,Portugalin 1951.It also had a base atOberwiesenfeld Airporton the outskirts of Munich,employing several former Nazi agents who had been involved in theOstministeriumunderGerhard von Mendeduring World War II.In 1955, Radio Liberty began broadcasting programs to Russia's eastern provinces from shortwave transmitters located onTaiwan.In 1959, Radio Liberty commenced broadcasts from a base atPlatja de Pals,Spain.

Radio Liberty expanded its audience by broadcasting programs in languages other than Russian. By March 1954, Radio Liberty was broadcasting six to seven hours daily in eleven languages.By December 1954, Radio Liberty was broadcasting in 17 languages includingUkrainian,Belarusian,Kazakh,Kyrgyz,Tajik,Turkmen,Uzbek,Tatar,Bashkir,Armenian,Azerbaijani,Georgian,and other languages of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

List of languages

Service	Language	Target audience	from	to	Website	Remarks
Czechoslovak	Czech	Czechinhabited lands ofCzechoslovak Republic(1950–1960) Czechinhabited lands ofCzechoslovak Socialist Republic(1960–1969) Czech SR(1969–1990) Czech Republic(1990–1993)	4 July 1950	1 January 1993	—	the Czech desk split from Czechoslovak Service as Czech Service (1993–1995) operated as RSE Inc. (1995–2002)
Czechoslovak	Slovak	Slovakinhabited lands ofCzechoslovak Republic(1950–1960) Slovakinhabited lands ofCzechoslovak Socialist Republic(1960–1969) Slovak SR(1969–1990) Slovakia(1990–1993)	4 July 1950	4 January 1993	—	the Slovak desk split from Czechoslovak Service as Slovak Service (1993–2004)
Romanian	Romanian	Romanian People's Republic(1950–1965) Socialist Republic of Romania(1965–1989) Romania(1989–2008, 2019–present)	14 July 1950 14 January 2019	1 August 2008 present	Radio Europa Liberă	also coveredChernivtsi Oblast(1950–1953),Izmail Oblast(1950–1953),Moldavian SSR(1950–1953, 1990–1991) andRepublic of Moldova(1991–1998) merged into Moldavian Service in 2008 split from Moldavian service in 2019
Hungarian	Hungarian	Hungarian People's Republic(1950–1989) Hungary(1989–1993, 2020–present)	4 August 1950 8 September 2020	31 October 1993 present	Szabad Európa
Polish	Polish	Polish People's Republic(1950–1989) Poland(1990–1994)	4 August 1950	31 December 1994	—	operated as RWE Inc. (1995–1997)
Bulgarian	Bulgarian	Bulgarian People's Republic(1950–1989) Bulgaria(1989–2004, 2019–present)	11 August 1950 21 January 2019	31 January 2004 present	Свободна Европа
Albanian	Albanian	Albanian People's Republic	1 June 1951	1952	—
Russian	Russian	Russian SFSR(1953–1991) Russia(1991–2022)	1 March 1953	present	Радио Свобода	asRadio Liberty also coveredSoviet Armed Forcesdeployed inEastern Europeand inCuba also coveredByelorussian SSR(1953–1954),Ukrainian SSR(1953–1954),Estonian SSR(1953–1975),Latvian SSR(1953–1975),Lithuanian SSR(1953–1975) andMoldavian SSR(1953–1990)
Turkmen	Turkmen	Turkmen SSR(1953–1991) Turkmenistan(1991–present)	2 March 1953	present	Azatlyk Radiosy	asRadio Liberty
Georgian	Georgian	Georgian SSR(1953–1991) Georgia(1991–present)	3 March 1953	present	რადიო თავისუფლება	asRadio Liberty also coveredAbkhaz ASSRbetween 1953 and 1991,Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia(1991–2009),Abkhazia(1992–2009, disputed),South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast(1953–1991) andSouth Ossetia(1991–2009, disputed)
North Caucasus	Adyghe	Adyghe Autonomous Oblast(1953–1970s)	18 March 1953	1970s	—	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2009) and by Ekho Kavkaza Service (2009–present)
North Caucasus	Ingush	Ingushinhabited lands of theNorth Ossetian ASSR(1953–1957) Checheno-Ingush ASSR(1957–1970s)	18 March 1953	1970s	—	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2009) and by Ekho Kavkaza Service (2009–present)
North Caucasus	Karachay-Balkar	Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast	18 March 1953	1970s	—	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2009) and by Ekho Kavkaza Service (2009–present)
North Caucasus	Ossetian	North Ossetian ASSR	18 March 1953	1970s	—	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2009) and by Ekho Kavkaza Service (2009–present)
Armenian	Armenian	Armenian SSR(1953–1991) Armenia(1991–present)	18 March 1953	present	Ազատություն ռադիոկայան	asRadio Liberty
Azerbaijani	Azerbaijani	Azerbaijan SSR(1953–1991) Azerbaijan(1991–present)	18 March 1953	present	Azadlıq Radiosu	asRadio Liberty
Kazakh	Kazakh	Kazakh SSR(1953–1991) Kazakhstan(1991–present)	18 March 1953	present	Azattyq Radiosy	asRadio Liberty
Kyrgyz	Kyrgyz	Kirghiz SSR(1953–1991) Kyrgyzstan(1991–present)	18 March 1953	present	Азаттык үналгысы	asRadio Liberty
Tajik	Tajik	Tajik SSR(1953–1991) Tajikistan(1991–present)	18 March 1953	present	Радиои Озодӣ	asRadio Liberty
Uzbek	Uzbek	Uzbek SSR(1953–1991) Uzbekistan(1991–present)	18 March 1953	present	Ozodlik Radiosi	asRadio Liberty
North Caucasus	Avar	Dagestan ASSR(1953–1970s) Dagestan(2002–2016)	18 March 1953 3 April 2002	1970s 31 May 2016	—	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2002) and Ekho Kavkaza Service (2016–present) Caucasian Avars
North Caucasus	Chechen	Checheninhabited lands of theStavropol Krai(1953–1957) Checheno-Ingush ASSR(1957–1970s) Chechnya(2002–present)	18 March 1953 3 April 2002	1970s present	Маршо Радио	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1970s–2002)
Tatar-Bashkir	Tatar	Tatar ASSR(1953–1991) Tatarstan(1991–present)	11 December 1953	present	Azatlıq Radiosı	asRadio Liberty
Belarusian	Belarusian	Byelorussian SSR(1954–1991) Belarus(1991–present)	20 May 1954	present	Радыё Свабода	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1954
Ukrainian	Ukrainian	Ukrainian SSR(1954–1991) Ukraine(1991–present)	16 August 1954	present	Радіо Свобода	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1954
Czechoslovak	Rusyn	Prešov Region	1954	1955	—	covered by the Slovak Desk of the Czechoslovak Service (1950–1954, 1955–1993) and by Slovak Service (1993–2004) Rusyns
Central Asia	Karakalpak	Karakalpak ASSR	1960s	1970s	—	asRadio Liberty covered by Uzbek Service (1953–1960s, 1970s–present)
Tatar-Bashkir	Crimean Tatar	Crimean Oblast(1960s–1991) Crimean ASSR(1991–1992) Autonomous Republic of Crimea(1992–present) Republic of Crimea(2014–present, disputed) Sevastopol(1960s–present)	1960s	present	Qırım Aqiqat	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1953–1954) and Ukrainian Service (1954–1960s)
Uyghur	Uyghur	Kazakh SSR(1966–1979) Uzbek SSR(1966–1979) Kirghiz SSR(1966–1979)	October 1966	15 February 1979	—	asRadio Liberty covered by Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Uzbek Services (1953–1966, 1979–1998) covered by Uyghur Service ofRadio Free Asia(1998–present) Uyghurs in Kazakhstan Uyghurs in Kyrgyzstan
Lithuanian	Lithuanian	Soviet Lithuania(1975–1990) Lithuania(1990–2004)	16 February 1975	31 January 2004	—	asRadio Libertyuntil 1984, then asRadio Free Europe. covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1975
Latvian	Latvian	Soviet Latvia(1975–1990) Latvia(1990–2004)	5 July 1975	31 January 2004	—	asRadio Libertyuntil 1984, then asRadio Free Europe covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1975
Latvian	Latgalian	Soviet Latvia(1975–1990) Latvia(1990–2004)	5 July 1975	31 January 2004	—	asRadio Libertyuntil 1984, then asRadio Free Europe covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1975 Latgalians
Estonian	Estonian	Soviet Estonia(1975–1990) Estonia(1990–2004)	1975	31 January 2004	—	asRadio Libertyuntil 1984, then asRadio Free Europe covered by Russian Service between 1953 and 1975
Afghan	Dari	Democratic Republic of Afghanistan(1985–1987) Republic of Afghanistan(1987–1992) Islamic State of Afghanistan(1992–1993) Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan(2002–2004) Islamic Republic of Afghanistan(2004–2021) Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan(2021–present)	1 October 1985 30 January 2002	19 October 1993 present	رادیو آزادی	asRadio Liberty asRadio Free Afghanistanbetween 1985 and 1993
Afghan	Pashto	Democratic Republic of Afghanistan(1985–1987) Republic of Afghanistan(1987–1992) Islamic State of Afghanistan(1992–1993) Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan(2002–2004) Islamic Republic of Afghanistan(2004–2021) Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan(2021–present)	September 1987 30 January 2002	19 October 1993 present	راډیو ازادي	asRadio Liberty covered byRadio Free Afghanistanbetween 1985 and 1993
Tatar-Bashkir	Bashkir	Bashkortostan	early 1990s	present	Idel.Реалии	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1953–early 1990s)
Czech	Czech	Czech Republic	1 January 1993	31 January 2004	—	activated as Czech Desk of the Czechoslovak Service, between 1950 and 1993 operated as RSE Inc. (1995–2002)
Slovak	Slovak	Slovakia	4 January 1993	31 January 2004	—	activated as Slovak Desk of the Czechoslovak Service, between 1950 and 1993
Balkan	Croatian	Croatia Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Brčko District	31 January 1994	September 2018	—	Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Balkan	Serbian	Serbia Republika Srpska Brčko District Montenegro Kosovo North Macedonia Croatia	31 January 1994	present	Radio Slobodna Evropa	Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbs of Montenegro Kosovo Serbs Serbs in North Macedonia Serbs of Croatia
Balkan	Bosnian	Bosnia and Herzegovina	31 January 1994	present	Radio Slobodna Evropa
RWE Inc.	Polish	Poland	1 January 1995	1997	—	asRadio Wolna Europa (RWE Inc.) activated as Polish Service (1950–1994)
RSE Inc.	Czech	Czech Republic	1 January 1995	30 September 2002	—	asRadio Svobodna Europa (RSE Inc.) activated as part of Czechoslovak Service (1950–1992) and as Czech Service (1993–1995)
Moldavian	Romanian	Republic of Moldova	1998	present	Radio Europa Liberă	covered by the Romanian Service between 1950–1953 and 1990–1998 covered by the Russian Service between 1953 and 1990 Romanian Service merged into it in 2008 Romanian Service split from it in 2019
Radio Free Iraq	Arabic	Iraqi Republic(1998–2003) Iraqi Republic (provisional)(2003–2004) Republic of Iraq(2004–2015)	30 October 1998	31 July 2015	إذاعة العراق الحر	merged intoRadio Sawa
Balkan	Albanian	Kosovo	8 March 1999	present	Radio Evropa e Lirë	covered by the Serbian Desk of Balkan Service between 1994 and 1999
Persian	Persian	Iran	30 October 1998	1 December 2002	—	merged intoRadio Farda
Latvian	Russian	Latvia	February 2001	31 January 2004	—	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1953–1975) and by Latvian Service (1975–2001) Russians in Latvia
Balkan	Montenegrin	Montenegro	1 June 2000	present	Radio Slobodna Evropa	covered by the Serbian Desk of Balkan Service between 1994 and 2000
Balkan	Macedonian	North Macedonia	1 September 2001	present	Радио Слободна Европа
North Caucasus	Kabardian	Kabardino-Balkaria Karachay-Cherkessia	3 April 2002	31 May 2016	—	asRadio Liberty covered by Russian Service (1953–2002) and Ekho Kavkaza Service (2016–present)
Radio Farda	Persian	Iran	19 December 2002	present	فردا رادیو	covered by Persian Service between 1998 and 2002
Georgian (Ekho Kavkaza)	Russian	Abkhazia South Ossetia	2 November 2009	present	Эхо Кавказа	asEcho of the Caucasus covered by Georgian Service between 1953 and 2009 also coversAdygea,Dagestan,Ingushetia,Karachay-Cherkessia,Kabardino-BalkariaandNorth Ossetia–Alania
Radio Mashaal	Pashto	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	15 January 2010	present	مشال راډیو	asRadio Liberty

Cold War years

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty transmitter site,Biblis,Germany, 2007

Radio Free Europe

According to certain European politicians such asPetr Nečas,RFE played a significant role in the collapse of communism and the development of democracy in Eastern Europe.Unlike government-censored programs, RFE publicized anti-Soviet protests and nationalist movements. Its audience increased substantially following the failedBerlin riots of 1953and the highly publicized defection ofJózef Światło.Arch Puddington argues that itsHungarianservice's coverage ofPoland'sPoznań riotsin 1956 served as an inspiration for theHungarian revolutionthat year.

Hungary

During theHungarian Revolution of 1956,RFE broadcasts encouraged rebels to fight and suggested that Western support was imminent.These RFE broadcasts violatedEisenhower's policy, which had determined that the United States would not provide military support for the Revolution.According to Arch Puddington, a former bureau manager for RFL/RL, a number of changes were implemented at RFE in the wake of this scandal, including the establishment of the Broadcast Analysis Division to ensure that broadcasts were accurate and professional while maintaining the journalists' autonomy.

Romania

RFE was seen as a serious threat by Romanian presidentNicolae Ceaușescu.From the mid-1970s to his overthrow and execution in December 1989, Ceaușescu waged a vengeful war against the RFE/RL under the program "Ether". Ether operations included physical attacks on Romanian journalists working for RFE/RL, including the controversial circumstances surrounding the deaths of three directors of RFE/RL's Romanian Service.

1981 RFE/RL Munich bombing

On February 21, 1981, RFE/RL's headquarters in Munich was struck by a massive bomb, causing $2 million in damage.Several employees were injured, but there were no fatalities.Stasifiles opened after 1989 indicated that the bombing was carried out by a group under the direction ofIlich Ramírez Sánchez(known as "Carlos the Jackal" ), and paid for byNicolae Ceaușescu,president of Romania.

But, according to the former head of the KGB Counterintelligence Department K, generalOleg Kalugin,the bombing operation was planned over two years by Department K, with the active involvement of a KGB mole inside the radio station, Oleg Tumanov. This revelation directly implicates KGB colonelOleg Nechiporenko,who recruited Tumanov in the early 1960s and was his Moscow curator.Nechiporenko has never denied his involvement. In an interview with Radio Liberty in 2003, he justified the bombing on the grounds that RFE/RL was an American propaganda tool against the Soviet Union.Tumanov was exfiltrated back to the USSR in 1986.Nechiporenko contacts with Carlos in the 1970s were confirmed by Nechiporenko himself in an article published bySegodnyain 2000and by an article inIzvestiain 2001.

Chernobyl disaster

For the first two days following theChernobyl disasteron April 26, 1986, the official Eastern Bloc media did not report any news about the disaster, nor any full account for another four months. According to theHoover Institute,the people of the Soviet Union "became frustrated with inconsistent and contradictory reports", and 36% of them turned to Western radio to provide accurate and pertinent information.Listenership at RFE/RL "shot up dramatically" as a "great many hours" of broadcast time were devoted to the dissemination of life-saving news and information following the disaster.Broadcast topics included "precautions for exposure to radioactive fallout" and reporting on the plight of the Estonians who were tasked with providing the clean-up operations in Ukraine.

Poland and Czechoslovakia

Communist governments also sent agents to infiltrate RFE's headquarters. Although some remained on staff for extended periods of time, government authorities discouraged their agents from interfering with broadcast activity, fearing that this could arouse suspicions and detract from their original purpose of gathering information on the radio station's activities. From 1965 to 1971, an agent of theSB(Służba Bezpieczeństwa,Communist Poland's security service) successfully infiltrated the station with an operative, Captain Andrzej Czechowicz. According to formerVoice of AmericaPolish service director Ted Lipien:

"Czechowicz is perhaps the most well known communist-era Polish spy who was still an active agent while working at RFE in the late 1960s. Technically, he was not a journalist. As a historian by training, he worked in the RFE's media analysis service in Munich. After more than five years, Czechowicz returned to Poland in 1971 and participated in programs aimed at embarrassing Radio Free Europe and the United States government."

According to Richard Cummings, former Security Chief of Radio Free Europe, other espionage incidents included a failed attempt by a Czechoslovak Intelligence Service (StB) agent in 1959 to poison the salt shakers in the organization's cafeteria.

In late 1960, an upheaval in the Czechoslovak service led to a number of dramatic changes in the organization's structure. RFE's New York headquarters could no longer effectively manage theirMunichsubsidiary. As a result major management responsibilities were transferred to Munich, making RFE a European-based organization.

According to Puddington, PolishSolidarityleaderLech Wałęsaand Russian reformerGrigory Yavlinskywould later recall secretly listening to the broadcasts despite the heavy jamming.

Jamming

The Soviet government turned its efforts towards blocking reception of Western programs. To limit access to foreign broadcasts, the Central Committee decreed that factories should remove all components allowing short-wave reception fromUSSR-made radio receivers. However, consumers easily learned that the necessary spare parts were available on the black market, and electronics engineers opposing the idea would gladly convert radios back to being able to receive short-wave transmissions.

The most extensive form of reception obstruction wasradio jamming.This was controlled by theKGB,which in turn reported to the Central Committee. Jamming was an expensive and arduous procedure, and its efficacy is still debated. In 1958, the Central Committee mentioned that the sum spent on jamming was greater than the sum spent on domestic and international broadcasting combined.The Central Committee has admitted that circumventing jamming was both possible and practised in the Soviet Union. Due to limited resources, authorities prioritized jamming based on the location, language, time, and theme of Western transmissions.Highly political programs in Russian, broadcast at prime time to urban centers, were perceived as the most dangerous. Seen as less politically threatening, Western music such asjazzwas often transmitted unjammed.

During and after theCuban Missile Crisisin late 1962, jamming was intensified. The Cuban Missile Crisis, however, was followed by a five-year period when the jamming of most foreign broadcasters ceased, only to intensify again with the Prague Spring in 1968. It ceased again in 1973, whenHenry Kissingerbecame theU.S. Secretary of State.The end to jamming came abruptly on 21 November 1988 when Soviet and Eastern European jamming of virtually all foreign broadcasts, including RFE/RL services, ceased at 21:00CET.

United States

During the Cold War, RFE was often criticized in the United States as not being sufficiently anti-communist. Although its non-governmental status spared it from full scaleMcCarthyistinvestigations, several RFE journalists, including the director of the Czech service,Ferdinand Peroutka,were accused of being soft on Communism.Fulton Lewis,a U.S.radio commentatorand fervent anti-communist, was one of RFE's sharpest critics throughout the 1950s. His critical broadcasts inspired other journalists to investigate the inner workings of the organization, including its connection to the CIA. When its CIA ties were exposed in the 1960s, direct funding responsibility shifted to Congress.

Funding

RFE/RL received funds from theCIAuntil 1972.The CIA's relationship with the radio stations began to break down in 1967, whenRampartsmagazine published an exposé claiming that the CIA was channeling funds to civilian organizations. Further investigation into the CIA's funding activities revealed its connection to both RFE and RL, sparking significant media outrage.

In 1971, the radio stations came under public spotlight once more whenU.S. SenatorClifford CaseintroducedSenate Bill18, which would have removed funding for RFE and RL from the CIA's budget, appropriated $30 million to pay forfiscal year1972 activities, and required theState Departmentto temporarily oversee the radio stations.

In May 1972, PresidentRichard Nixonappointed aspecial commissionto deliberate RFE/RL's future.The commission proposed that funding come directly from the United States Congress and that a new organization, theBoard for International Broadcasting(BIB) would simultaneously link the stations and the federal government, and serve as an editorial buffer between them.

According to Arch Puddington, a former bureau manager for RFE/RL, though both radio stations initially received most of their funding from the CIA, RFE maintained a strong sense of autonomy; Puddington says that underCord Meyer,the CIA officer in charge of overseeing broadcast services from 1954 to 1971, the CIA took a position of minimal government interference in radio affairs and programming.

In 1974, they came under the control of an organization called theBoard for International Broadcasting(BIB). The BIB was designed to receiveappropriationsfrom Congress, give them to radio managements, and oversee the appropriation of funds.On 1 October 1976, the two radio stations merged to form Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and added the threeBalticlanguage services to their repertoire.

1980s:Glasnostand the Iron Curtain's fall

Funding for RFE/RL increased during theReagan administration.PresidentRonald Reagan,a fervent anticommunist, urged the stations to be more critical of the communist regimes. This presented a challenge to RFE/RL's broadcast strategy, which had been very cautious since the controversy over its alleged role in the Hungarian Revolution.

During theMikhail Gorbachevera in the Soviet Union underGlasnost,RFE/RL benefited significantly from the Soviet Union's new openness. Gorbachev stopped the practice of jamming the broadcasts. In addition, dissident politicians and officials could be freely interviewed by RFE/RL for the first time without fearing persecution or imprisonment.By 1990, Radio Liberty had become the most listened-to Western radio station broadcasting to the Soviet Union.

Its coverage of the 1991August coupenriched sparse domestic coverage of the event and drew in a wide audience.The broadcasts allowed Gorbachev andBoris Yeltsinto stay in touch with the Russian people during this turbulent period. Boris Yeltsin later expressed his gratitude through apresidential decreeallowing Radio Liberty to open a permanent bureau in Moscow.

Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution

Following theNovember 17 demonstrationsin 1989 and brutal crackdown by Czechoslovak riot police,Drahomíra Dražská,a porter at a dormitory in Prague, reported that a student,Martin Šmíd,had been killed during the clashes.TheCharter 77activistPetr Uhlbelieved this account and passed it along to major news organizations, who broadcast it.AfterReutersand theVoice of America(VOA) reported the story, RFE/RL decided to run it too.However, the report later turned out to be false. The story is credited by many sources with inspiring Czechoslovak citizens to join the subsequent (larger) demonstrations which eventually brought down the communist government.

After 1991

In 1995, RFE/RL moved its headquarters from Munich to Prague, to the building of theCzechoslovak Federal Assembly.It had been vacant since the 1992dissolution of Czechoslovakia.TheClinton Administrationreduced funding significantly and placed the service under theUnited States Information Agency's oversight.

RFE/RL ended broadcasts toHungaryin 1993 and stopped broadcasts toPolandin 1997. On January 31, 1994, RFE/RL launched broadcasts to the formerYugoslaviain Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian languages.In the late 1990s RFE/RL launched broadcast toKosovoin Albanian and toNorth Macedoniain Macedonian. Broadcast to theCzech Republicproceeded for three more years under the agreement with Czech Radio. In 2004 RFE/RL stopped broadcasting toEstonia,Latvia,Lithuania,Slovakia,Croatia,Montenegro,Bulgaria,andRomania.

In 1994–2008, RFE/RL used the formerFederal Parliamentbuilding of the abolishedCzechoslovakiainPrague New Town.For many years after the9/11 attacksin 2001 in the US, the building was protected by security concrete barriers. These reduced the capacity of the most frequented roads in Prague center.

RFE/RL Chief Jeffrey Gedmin said in 2008 that the agency's mission is to serve as a surrogate free press in countries where such press is banned by the government or not fully established. It maintains 20 local bureaus. Governments that are subjected to critical reporting often attempt to obstruct the station's activities through a range of tactics, including extensive jamming, shutting down local re-broadcasting affiliates, or finding legal excuses to close down offices.

RFE/RL says that its journalists and freelancers often risk their lives to broadcast information, and their safety has always been a major issue. Reporters have frequently been threatened and persecuted.RFE/RL also faces a number of central security concerns, includingcyberterroristattacksand general terrorist threats.After theSeptember 11 attacks,American and Czech authorities agreed to move RFE/RL's Prague headquarters away from the city center in order to make it less vulnerable to terrorist attack.On February 19, 2009, RFE/RL began broadcasting from its new headquarters east of the city center.

Beyond Europe

A reporter for RFE/RL's Afghan Service interviews a citizen inHelmand,Afghanistan.

RFE/RL says that it continues to struggle with authoritarian regimes for permission to broadcast freely within their countries. On January 1, 2009,Azerbaijanimposed a ban on all foreign media in the country, including RFE/RL.Kyrgyzstansuspended broadcasts of Radio Azattyk, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz language service, because it had asked that the government be able to pre-approve its programming. Other states such asBelarus,Iran,Turkmenistan,Tajikistan,andUzbekistanprohibit re-broadcasting to local stations, making programming difficult for average listeners to access.

In 1998, RFE/RL began broadcasting toIraq.Iraqi presidentSaddam HusseinorderedIraqi Intelligence Service,to "violently disrupt the Iraqi broadcasting of Radio Free Europe". IIS planned to attack the headquarters with anRPG-7from a window across the street. CzechSecurity Information Service(BIS) foiled the plot.

In 2008, Afghan presidentHamid Karzaiurged his government to provide assistance to a rape victim after listening to her story onRadio Azadi,RFE/RL's Afghan service.According to REF/RL in 2009, Radio Azadi was the most popular radio station in Afghanistan, and Afghan listeners mailed hundreds of hand-written letters to the station each month.

In September 2009, RFE/RL announced that it would begin newPashto-languagebroadcasting to theAfghanistan–Pakistan borderregion.

The following month RFE/RL introduced a daily, one-hour Russian-language broadcast, broadcasting to the breakaway regions ofSouth OssetiaandAbkhazia.The program, calledEkho Kavkaza(Echo of the Caucasus), focused on local and international news and current affairs, organized in coordination with RFE/RL's Georgian Service.

On January 15, 2010, RFE/RL began broadcasting to the Pashtun tribal areas of Pakistan inPashto.The service, known asRadio Mashaal( "Torch" ), was created in an attempt to counter the growing number of local Islamic extremist radio stations broadcasting in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.Radio Mashaalsays that it broadcasts local and international news with in-depth reports on terrorism, politics, women's issues, and health care (with an emphasis onpreventive medicine). The station broadcasts roundtable discussions and interviews with tribal leaders and local policymakers, in addition to regular call-in programs.

2010s

On October 14, 2014, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and theVoice of America(VOA) launched a new Russian-language TV news program,Current Time,"to provide audiences in countries bordering Russia with a balanced alternative to thedisinformation produced by Russian media outletsthat is drivinginstability in the region".Over the next two years,Current Time– led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA – expanded to become a 24/7 digital and TV stream for Russian-speaking audiences worldwide.

Around 2017, Voice of America and RFE/RL launchedPolygraph.info,and the Russian-languagefactograph.info,as fact-checking sites.On July 19, 2018, RFE/RL announced it will be returning its news services to Bulgaria and Romania by the end of 2018 amid growing concern about a reversal in democratic gains and attacks on the rule of law and the judiciary in the two countries.The Romanian news service re-launched on January 14, 2019,and the Bulgarian service re-launched on January 21, 2019.On 8 September 2020 the Hungarian service was also relaunched.

In a response to theUnited States Department of JusticerequestingRTto register as a foreign agent under theForeign Agents Registration Act,Russia'sJustice Ministryalso requested RFE/RL andVoice of Americato register as foreign agents under the law ФЗ N 121-ФЗ / 20.07.2012 in December 2017.

2020s

In the aftermath ofBelarusian presidential elections of 2020,Radio Liberty and independent media resources experienced significant pressure from the government and law enforcement.Journalists’ accreditations were cancelled by the authorities on October 2, 2020.On July 16, 2021, the office inMinskand homes of the journalists were raided by the police.

In Russia, the government designated radio's website as a "foreign agent" on May 14, 2021. RL's bank accounts were frozen.By that time,Roskomnadzor,the Russian mass media regulator, had initiated 520 cases against the broadcaster, with total fines for the RL's refusal to mark its content with the "foreign agent" label estimated at $2.4m.On May 19, 2021, RL filed a legal case at theEuropean Court of Human Rights,accusing the Russian government of violating freedom of expression and freedom of the media.

In March 2023, criminal case was opened against Moscow resident Yury Kokhovets, a participant in the RFE/RL's street poll.He faced up to 10 years in prison under Russia's2022 war censorship laws.

In 2022, Radio Free Europe was awarded anOnline Journalism Awardfor the coverage of Russia's War on Ukraine.

In 2023, a court inBishkek,capital ofKyrgyzstan,has accepted a request from the Culture Ministry to ban the operations of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service.

In September 2023, RFE/RL'sAzerbaijaniservice, Radio Azadliq, was revealed to have a leadership with links to Azerbaijan’s ruling authorities, which censored content critical of the Azerbaijani government and instead published content that promoted the government's agendas.

In February 2024, RFE was listed as an 'undesirable organization' by Russia, effectively making it illegal in the country.

Programs

49 Minutes of Jazz

The program was a musical review byDmitri Savitskifrom 1989 to 2004. The theme song of the program was "So Tired" byBobby Timmons.The program was cancelled on April 10, 2004 due to "the change of Liberty's format".

See also

• Alhurra
• Constantine Kromiadi
• Operation Mockingbirdandwhite propaganda
• Radio Free Asia
• Radio y Televisión Martí
• Women, Life, Freedom

Bibliography

• Cummings, Richard (2008). "The Ether War: Hostile Intelligence Activities Directed Against Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, and the Émigré Community in Munich during the Cold War".Journal of Transatlantic Studies.6(2): 168–182.doi:10.1080/14794010802184374.S2CID143544822.
• Holt, Robert T.Radio Free Europe(U of Minnesota Press, 1958)
• Johnson, Ian (2010).A Mosque in Munich.Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.ISBN9780151014187.
• Johnson, A. Ross,Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty: The CIA Years and Beyond.(Woodrow Wilson Center Press, Stanford University Press, 2010)
• Johnson, A. Ross and R. Eugene Parta (eds.),Cold War Broadcasting: Impact on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.(Budapest: Central European University Press, 2010)
• Machcewicz, Paweł.Poland's War on Radio Free Europe, 1950–1989(Trans. by Maya Latynski. Cold War International History Project Series) (Stanford University Press, 2015). 456 pp.online review
• Rawnsley, Gary D.(1996).Radio Diplomacy and Propaganda.London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.doi:10.1007/978-1-349-24499-7.ISBN978-1-349-24501-7.
• Mickelson, Sig (1983).America's Other Voice: the Story of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty.New York, NY: Praeger Publishers.ISBN9780030632242.
• Mikkonen, Simo (Fall 2010)."Stealing the Monopoly of Knowledge?: Soviet Reactions to U.S. Cold War Broadcasting".Kritika: Explorations in Russian & Eurasian History.11(4): 771–805.doi:10.1353/kri.2010.0012.S2CID159839411.
• Pomar, Mark G.Cold War Radio: The Russian Broadcasts of the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty(University of Nebraska Press, 2022)online scholarly book review

• Puddington, Arch (2003).Broadcasting Freedom: The Cold War Triumph of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty.Lexington:University Press of Kentucky.
• Sosin, Gene (1999).Sparks of Liberty: An Insider's Memoir of Radio Liberty.University Park:Pennsylvania State University Press.
• Urban, George R. (1997).Radio Free Europe and the pursuit of democracy: My War Within the Cold War.Yale University Press. Urban was the director of RFE in the 1980s.

In other languages

• Măgură Bernard, Ioana(2007).Directorul postului nostru de radio.Curtea Veche.ISBN978-973-669-442-4.
• Molnár, József(2006).A Szabad Európa Rádió a forradalom napjaiban – Autobiography.ISBN963-9592-10-2.
• Tofan, Liviu(2021).Ne-au ținut în viață – Radio Europa Liberă, 1970-1990.Editura Omnium.ISBN978-606-95197-5-2.
• Tofan, Liviu(2021).Antologia Radio Europa Liberă – 101 contribuții (1956-1990).Editura Omnium.ISBN978-606-95197-1-4.

External links

• Official website
• "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Internal Revenue Service filings".ProPublicaNonprofit Explorer.
• "Farda English - Life Inside Iran - Iran protests".RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.Retrieved9 November2022.
• RFE/RL Broadcast and Corporate Recordscompiled by theHoover Institution
• RFE/RL collection of declassified documentscompiled by theWoodrow Wilson International Center for Scholarsand made publicly available through the Wilson Center Digital Archive
• The short film1956 Crusade for Freedom(1956)is available for free viewing and download at theInternet Archive.
• The short filmRadio Free Europe(1960)is available for free viewing and download at theInternet Archive.
• The short filmEagle Cage(1960)is available for free viewing and download at theInternet Archive.
• CIA archives