Radio Moscow

RADIO MOSCOW

Radio Moscow was the official Radio station of the Soviet Union, it started broadcasting in 1922, powered at 12 kilowatts ,this was at the time the most powerful Radio station in the world.

The call sign of Radio Moscow was "Moscow Evenings" for which the words were

"Not even a rustle is heard in the garden.
Here everything stands still until morning.
If you only know how dear evenings near Moscow are to me"

Words by M. Matusovski
Music by V Sdlovyov-Sedoi

Radio and TV day was celebrated in the Soviet Union on May 7th. This day marks the anniversary in 1895 (7th May) when Alexander Stepanovich Popov(1895 -1906), a teacher of the Kronstadt Mine School, read a paper on "The relation of Metallic Powders to electric Oscillation" and demonstrated the first radio receiving set in the world. Popov effected ship-to-shore communication over a distance of 6 miles in 1898 and 30 miles in 1899. It is therefore probable that Popov and not Marconi can be considered the true Father of Radio.

Popov was a supporter of reform in Russia and strong believer in the principles of academic and political freedom, was ordered by the Tsar to crack down on students at the Electro Chemical Institute in 1905, this it is said caused a deterioration in his already poor health and lead to his untimely death aged just 46.

In 1945, on the 50th anniversary of the reading of Popov's paper at Kronstadt , the Soviet government decreed that May 7th be annually marked in the USSR as Radio Day,

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's radio address on the overthrow of the Provisional Government may be practically considered as the Worlds first radio broadcast.

The following message was broadcast on October 30 (November 12 in the new calendar) of 1917

"The All-Russian Congress of Soviets has formed a new Soviet Government. The Government of Kerensky has been overthrown and arrested. Kerensky himself has fled. All official institutions are in the hands of the Soviet Government."

These initial broadcasts were in Morse code, it was not until around 1920 that a group of Soviet scientists were able to transfer human voice via Radio waves. Finally In 1921, using the new technology, a powerful station was set up to broadcast every day for a few hours. The new program was called the "Spoken Newspaper of the Russian Telegraph Agency,

Lenin later stated that

"Every village should have radio! Every government office, as well as every club in our factories should be aware that at a certain hour they will hear political news and major events of the day. This way our country will lead a life of highest political awareness, constantly knowing actions of the government and views of the people.."


Soviet Radio stations broadcast in 68 soviet and 70 foreign languages. A popular science magazine entitled "Radio" was published monthly in the Soviet Union.