Radio Free Europe

Radio broadcasting organization created by the U.S. government to provide information and political commentary to the people of communist Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. In the absence of unbiased media in the communist countries, Radio Free Europe provided its estimated 35 million listeners with news from around the world and, more important, from their own countries. Due to its largely successful efforts to outwit communist censors and reach its listeners on a daily basis, Radio Free Europe is credited with having contributed significantly to the demise of communist regimes throughout Eastern Europe and the Near East.

Radio Free Europe first began transmitting from its headquarters in Munich, Germany, on July 4, 1950, to a Czechoslovakian audience. Soon, its target was enlarged to include most of the Soviet-dominated countries, across 13 time zones. The station was funded by the U.S. Congress through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). However, the fact of CIA involvement was kept secret until the late 1960s for fear of Soviet retaliation.

The CIA ended its involvement in Radio Free Europe's financing and operation in 1971, and control was transferred to a Board for International Broadcasting appointed by the U.S. president. Four years later, in 1975, Radio Free Europe was merged with a similar broadcasting organization named Radio Liberty, creating what is still called Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Despite the termination of CIA involvement in Radio Free Europe, the Soviet Union continued its attempts to jam the station until 1988.

Following the end of the Cold War in 1989, the role of RFE/RL has changed in many of its target countries. The station is now officially allowed to operate in most of the states it broadcasts to, with the exception of Belarus, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Iran. RFE/RL currently has bureaus in 23 countries throughout Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East. In 1995, its headquarters moved to Prague, Czech Republic.

RFE/RL broadcasts in more than 20 different languages, including lesser-known tongues such as Bashkir, Circassian, Tatar, and Chechen (all spoken in the Russian Federation). It does not broadcast in English at all. Nineteen of the languages in which it broadcasts are spoken by Muslim communities, ranging from Kosovo (in the Balkans) to Iran (in the Middle East). In addition to providing its listeners with local news and information, RFE/RL aims to assist countries that are in transition in developing their civil societies (including the media) and guarding against the resumption of totalitarian rule.