BBC News Russian

BBC Russian Service / Русская служба Би-би-си
Type	Radio network and website
Country	United Kingdom
Availability	International
Owner	BBC
Key people	Sarah Gibson (Head of Service)
Launch date	1946
Official website	bbcrussian.com

For the parent World Service, see BBC World Service.

The BBC Russian Service (Rus: Ру́сская слу́жба Би-би-си́) is part of the BBC World Service's foreign language output, one of 33 languages it provides.

History

The BBC Russian Service has been broadcasting since March 26, 1946.

However during World War II there were sporadic broadcasts to the USSR in Russian only. Most of these broadcasts were after 1942.

These were mainly short news bulletins or announcements relating to UK Foreign Office policy in Russian from 1943 onwards but often weeks or months apart.

In the cold war era the Service broadcasts were severely jammed. Despite this, it tried to bring to listeners in USSR information they were deprived of, including works of writers and dissidents who could not publish their work at home. such as Solzhenitsyn. Jammers were finally turned off in late 80s, as perestroika took hold.

Radio Moscow on the other hand had been broadcasting in English to Western Europe since the late 1920s.
The German Propaganda ministry had an English service, as well as a Russian service during most of WWII.

Broadcasting

The BBC Russian Service broadcasts strategically throughout Russia and some former Soviet countries, on FM, short- and medium-wave radio. Last few years saw many attempts to broaden Service access to listeners via partnerships with local FM stations, however most were unsuccessful. Much-trumpeted deal with Russian FM network Silver Rain (Rus: Серебряный дождь) has collapsed to little result.

All the service's programming can be heard on medium-wave radio: in Moscow and St Petersburg on 1260kHz, in Yekaterinburg on 666kHz, however signal is patchy due to insufficient wattage of its transmitters. Most of the programmes can be accessed via Service's web site [1]

The BBC Russian Service launched FM broadcasts in Moscow on 99.6 FM between 0700-1000 (Moscow time), its Morning strand, and 1700-2000, its Afternoon strand, in partnership with Bol'shoe Radio (Rus: Большое радио). During the day the output alternated between Russian Service and its one time rival, Radio Moscow, thus presenting radically different takes on some of the international news. This test signal began broadcasting on 23 April 2007. However, as some have predicted, BBC involvement in Bolshoe Radio has not lasted for long and on August 17, 2007 it was announced that BBC Russian Service programmes are no longer broadcasted on that frequency. Officially, this was due to change in ownership of the frequency and subsequent changes in licensing. Russian Service's management said BBC is going to appeal to the Russian authorities.

The Russian Service had been suffering from AM and FM transmission issues in Moscow and St Petersburg in late 2005 and first few months of 2006. Obstacles, officially due to the lack of proper licences, were removed, however since November 2006, from around the time the Litvinenko story hit the headlines FM broadcasts were disrupted again. The service is now broadcasting again on FM in Moscow, and negotiations with stations in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg are ongoing.

On 17 August 2007 Bol'shoe Radio notified the BBC World Service that it planned to stop transmission of BBC programming in Russian as of that afternoon. BBC content was not aired as usual at 5pm; the station was ordered by its owner, the financial group Finam, to pull the shows or risk being taken off air altogether. The BBC planed to appeal against the decision. [2]

However, this is unlikely to happen. In its 2007 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Annual Report, the House of Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee concluded about the BBC Russian Service's joint project with Bolshoe Radio: "the development of a partnership with the international arm of a Russian state broadcasting network puts the BBC World Service’s reputation for editorial independence at risk." ^[1].

Russian dissidents such as Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian opposition's presidential candidate to replace Vladimir Putin, and KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky CMG have criticized the BBC Russian service for soft-pedaling the death of Alexander Litvinenko. An article in The Economist suggested that the BBC's desire to continue to use local transmitters in the Russian Federation may be cause.^[2].

Morning broadcasting for Western Russia

BBC Morning

Russian name: Утро на Би-би-си
Broadcast: 0400-0700 (GMT/BST)
Genre: Three-hour breakfast news show
Presented by: Konstantin Eggert.
Broadcast from: Moscow bureau.

Evening broadcasting for Western Russia

London View

Russian name: Глядя из Лондона
Broadcast: 1400-1500 (GMT/BST)
Genre: Analytical news show
Presented by: Jana Litvinova, Ravil Bukharaev, Dima Poltavsky, Aleksandr Baranov, Leonid Louneev, Mikhail Smotryaev.
Broadcast from: Bush House, London.

Radius

Russian name: Радиус
Broadcast: 1500-1530 (GMT/BST)
Genre: In-depth analysis of the day's biggest story.
Presented by: Anna Dementieva
Broadcast from: Moscow bureau.

Business Class

Russian name: Бизнес Класс
Broadcast: 1530-1545 (GMT/BST)
Genre: Business news round-up, entertainment and fashion news.
Broadcast from: Bush House, London.

Over To You

Russian name: Вам Слово
Broadcast: 1545-1600 (GMT/BST)
Genre: The newest programme in the service's output, Over To You is an interactive programme with listeners' points of views and comments.
Presented by: Dima Poltavsky, Mikhael Smotryaev.
Broadcast from: Bush House, London.

BBSeva: News with a Human Face

Russian name: БибиСева: Новости с человеческим лицом
Broadcast: 1600-1700 (GMT/BST)
Genre: Informal news show with interviews with Russian-speaking people in the know.
Presented by: Seva Novgorodsev MBE.
Broadcast from: Bush House, London.

Key Presenters

Seva Novgorodsev MBE

"BBSeva: News with a Human Face"

Jana Litvinova

"London View"

Dima Poltavsky

"Over To You"

Konstantin Eggert MBE

Konstantin Eggert MBE is Moscow Bureau Editor of the BBC Russian Service. He also edits and presents “Utro na BBC” (“BBC Morning”), the Russian Service main morning news and current affairs program. In 1992 - 1998 Mr. Eggert was Diplomatic Correspondent and Deputy Foreign Editor of "Izvestia" daily. His assignments included, among other areas, the Middle East, Iraq, Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and the Balkans. He has written extensively on Russian domestic and foreign policy issues and contributed articles to the "International Herald Tribune", “The Times”, "Atlanta Journal and Constitution", "Milliyet", "Helsingin Sanomaat", "La Croix", "The World Today" (publication of the Royal Institute of International Affairs). Mr Eggert is a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (London) and member of the board of “Pro et Contra”, quarterly journal of Carnegie Endowment Moscow Center. He lectures on Russian affairs at the German Foreign Policy Association (Berlin), Wilton Park (UK) and Geneva Centre for Security Policy. He is fluent in English, French and Arabic. Konstantin Eggert is an honours graduate of the Moscow University Asian and African Studies College (history and Arabic language). In 2008 Queen Elisabeth II has created Konstantin Eggert Honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his services to the BBC Russian Service.