Out for BBC in Russian
After 65 years, the British broadcaster BBC is discontinuing its radio programming in Russian for financial reasons.
BBC Russia will only be available on the Internet from this Friday, the broadcaster announced in London on Wednesday, according to SDA. The British government cut subsidies for the public broadcaster BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in January. The programs in Chinese and Ukrainian will also be discontinued. Jobs are being cut at many locations around the world and in the UK. The BBC had also announced that it would focus more on modern media such as the internet.
BBC Russia has an eventful history - always characterized by the often difficult relationship between Russia and Great Britain. The program went on air on 26 March 1946. During the Cold War from 1949 to 1987, the station was repeatedly disrupted by the Soviet authorities. Despite this, the BBC claimed to have millions of listeners. But there was also criticism: the station was said repeatedly to be too reserved towards the Kremlin.
From 1992 onwards, BBC Russia worked more closely with Russian media and BBC programs were also broadcast on other channels. When relations between the two countries cooled down again - after the Russian ex-secret agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko was murdered in London - cooperation became increasingly difficult, employees report. (SDA)
