May 23, 1987
The USSR stopped jamming the Voice of America and several other Western radio stations.
A little boy is standing by the fountain in GUM, crying. A police officer approaches him:
- Are you lost?
— Lost!
- We'll announce it on the radio now and your parents will find you right away.
- Just, Uncle, if possible, announce on the BBC: my parents don’t listen to any other radio station.
"Enemy Voices" were broadcast into the USSR by the Voice of America, Radio Liberty, the BBC Russian Service, Deutsche Welle, Swedish Radio, and other radio stations. Broadcasts were conducted in the languages of the peoples of the USSR on short and medium waves.
A huge puddle, a drunk lying in the middle, a policeman standing at the edge. The drunk rises: "This is Voice of America, broadcasting an interview with Academician Sakharov!" The policeman looks at him, at the puddle—he doesn't feel like stomping through the mud. He takes a deep breath and starts muttering, "Oooh-ooh-ooh..."
In fact, the USSR was the first to broadcast to Western countries in 1929. The BBC only launched regular broadcasts in Russian in 1946. The Voice of America did so in 1947. Radio Liberty, then known as "Liberation from Bolshevism," began broadcasting in March 1953.
Voice of America asked Armenian Radio:
— What is the salary of a Soviet engineer?
Armenian Radio remained silent for three days, and on the fourth day it responded:
- And you lynch blacks!
Jamming of "Western voices" began in 1948, using "radio jamming stations" or electronic noise generators. The Soviet Union built about 1,5 special stations capable of jamming 40-60% of broadcasts. They were located in major cities. In rural areas, voices could be heard with virtually no interference.
There is a custom in Rus' to listen to the BBC at night.
To listen to the "voices," radio receivers capable of receiving wavelengths shorter than 25 meters (they were immune to jamming) were needed. These were exclusively exported. However, skilled radio enthusiasts could easily tune their devices. According to a report by the Propaganda Department of the CPSU Central Committee, in 1960, the USSR had approximately 20 million receivers capable of receiving "Western voices."