Radio Free Europe Is Revitalized During the Ukraine & Russian War

5 min read

Hi everyone, I’m Rick Barron, your host, and welcome to my podcast, That’s Life, I Swear

The Ukraine War with Russia has seen the world come to the aid of Ukraine, along with NATO. It’s even given new life to a group of reporters who have been vital to the people of Europe. Radio Free Europe was created in 1949. It represents a commitment to promoting democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression. Its mission is fact-based journalism by local reporters in local languages. That’s only a part of its story. You see it was once part of the C.I.A.

Let’s jump into this 

Radio Free Europe (RFE) was a radio broadcasting organization that was established in 1949 during the early years of the Cold War. Its purpose was to promote democracy and provide uncensored news and information to the people of Eastern and Central Europe, who were living under Soviet-dominated governments. 

Radio Free Europe Announcer in 1949. Courtesy of: Google Search

Originally Radio Free Europe (RFE) and Radio Liberty (RL), were separate organizations. Their origins were the brainstorms of George F. Kennan (United States Department of State) and Frank G. Wisner (Office of Policy Coordination, later the United States Central Intelligence Agency).  The goal of these organizations was to leverage the talents of post-World War II Soviet and Eastern European who left their respective countries for political reasons, in support of American foreign policy.

RFE was initially funded by the US government and its broadcasts were aimed at countries such as Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland. During the 1950s and 1960s, RFE played a crucial role in providing free and independent news to the people of Eastern Europe, such as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in 1975.

In the 1970s and 1980s, RFE's role became increasingly important as the Soviet Union exerted greater control over Eastern Europe. During this time, RFE continued to broadcast accurate and uncensored news to the people of the region, and its broadcasts were an important source of information for pro-democracy movements in countries like Czechoslovakia and Poland.

As mention, from 1949 to 1971, the CIA funded both organizations. World War II was over and the Cold War was in play. The CIA provided funding for Radio Free Europe during the Cold War as part of the US government's efforts to counteract Soviet propaganda and influence in Eastern and Central Europe. 

The goal of Radio Free Europe was to provide uncensored news and information to countries behind the Iron Curtain and support democratic movements in these countries. The funding was intended to help maintain the independence and impartiality of the radio station, which was officially separate from the US government but widely believed to be a CIA front. However, let’s be serious, the CIA wanted to control the narrative and world opinion so as to persuade public view of Europe, not to fall into the trap of Communism.

When the CIA stopped it’s involvement, both the RFE and RL were funded by Congressional appropriation through the Board for International Broadcasting (BIB) and after 1995 the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). The two corporations were merged into RFE/RL, Inc. in1976. With Congress’s funding it gave RFE the editorial independence it has today 

Andrei Shay, RFE Director at Prague office. Courtesy of: New York Times

With the official fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the mission for RFE changed.  The organization’s focus was aimed at promoting democratic reforms and supporting civil society in the newly-independent countries of Eastern and Central Europe. In 1995, RFE became part of the newly-established Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which continued to provide independent news and information to the countries of the region, and to support the development of democratic societies.

RFE delivered news, targeted at communist and non-communist elites as well as the general population. RFE and RL was a voice for dissidents and opposition movements that, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, would surface as leaders of the new post-communist democracies.

Today, RFE/RL remains an important source of news and information for people in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and the Balkans, and continues to play a critical role in promoting democratic values and practices in the region.

Fast forward to today. The war in Ukraine has given Radio Free Europe new life, a reawakening if you will. What has given RFE the strength of its news broadcasting is that it leverages local news reporters and delivers the news in the respective countries' native tongue. Such a process gives credence to what the audience hears and sees.

Editorial meeting at RFERL headquarters. Courtesy of: New York Times

Over time, the RFE organization moved its headquarters from Munich, Germany to Prague, Czech Republic. 

Today, RFE/RL is only a radio broadcasting unit. With Putin’s tight reins on news outlets, the majority of its Russian-language audience finds its reporting online, primarily through social-media platforms.

The organization today does very well with it’s audience base by drawing an average of 40 million people weekly. In addition, they broadcast in 27 languages and 23 countries. 

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, RFE’s mission and importance was amplified even more.

Much to the surprise of RFE/RL, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought in new audiences who wanted to know the current status of the war.  

Just in the first week of Russia’s invasion, traffic to RFE/RL websites tripled to approximately 70 million. More than half of that traffic came from Russia and Ukraine. As mentioned earlier, viewers went to various social media channels for news from RFE. One channel was YouTube, where the channel is still accessible.

The work the organization has been providing during the Ukraine war, has been vital to those who want to hear the truth. It’s distinctive service is news delivery to specific program broadcasts not only by region, but in the respective local language. Providing audiences with unvarnished news is essential.

Journalist: Anastasia Tishchenko. Courtesy of: New York Times

During the outbreak of the Ukraine war, many journalists, more so the younger generation, left Russia, for good. One of those journalists was, 29-year-old, Anastasia Tishchenko. 

The decision to leave was difficult. Leaving her country was one, but dealing with a falling out with her parents over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Her parents, born in Ukraine, believe Putin’s narrative of events. She has no idea if or when she can ever go home. For now, her focus is proving those would want to hear the truth, to hear it without interference.

What can we learn from this story? What’s the take away

On November 9, 1989, thousands of people around the world watched as the most visible symbol of division at the heart of Europe, the Berlin Wall, came crashing down. Seeing this visual gave everyone the feeling of hope that Communism had run it’s course and all would be well. 

That thought was short lived. Today, President Putin is on a road to rebuild the Russian Empire that once was. Unfortunately, he’s become a fanatic over this goal.

As long as we have to deal with megalomaniacs like Putin and others, Radio Free Europe will be there to speak truth to power. Their mission statement captures it very well:

‘RFE/RL's mission is to promote democratic values by providing accurate, uncensored news and open debate in countries where a free press is threatened and disinformation is pervasive. RFE/RL reports the facts, undaunted by pressure.’

Well, there you go. That's life, I swear.

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