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Ferdinand Peroutka: Mr. Czechoslovakia

Ferdinand Peroutka: Mr. Czechoslovakia

On May 1, 1951, respected Czech journalist and first RFE Czechoslovak Service Director Ferdinand Peroutka began the first official transmission from Radio Free Europe (RFE) headquarters in Munich, saying, “This…

A Leader In Courage And Innovation, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service Wins Burke Award

RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service was expelled from Uzbekistan in 2005 by then-President Islam Karimov. Only months before, Uzbek security service forces opened fire at peaceful protesters in the southeastern city of…

North Caucasus Service’s Online Library Preserves Chechnya’s Literary Heritage

In early 2015, as a step toward preserving Chechnya’s literary heritage, the North Caucasus service launched an online library available for free to users with both text and audio versions of classics…

The Georgian Service Interviews General Giorgi Kvinitadze

In this recording from May 1968, RFE/RL’s Georgian Service interviewed General Giorgi Kvinitadze, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Independent Republic of Georgia, two years before the General’s death.

(l-r) Current Time sound engineer Maksim Gavrilenko, director Vladimir Mikhailovski, and documentary filmmaker Lyubov Zemtsova.

RFE/RL Devastated By Tragedy Involving Film Crew In Belarus

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is devastated by the loss of two colleagues who died last night in a car crash in Belarus.

The RFE/RL logo, which reads RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty next to a logo of an orange torch

How Liberty Came To Russia

On August 19, 1991, a military coup was attempted in Moscow. Instead of reporting on the event, Soviet television broadcast the ballet, Swan Lake.

A group of young people participate in a sporting event or summer activity. To the right of the photo, Freddy Hirsch stands and watches two men preparing for a competition.

A Place of Heroes and Hope, RFE/RL’s Headquarters at Prague-Hagibor

RFE/RL broadcasts daily from Prague-Hagibor, a site connected for more than a century with offering help and hope to people in need.

Chernobyl: ‘A Radioactive Emergency Alarm Has Come From Denmark’

“American journalists are reporting from Moscow that a catastrophe has taken place at the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant not far from Kyiv” – these were the words with which RFE/RL’s…

A graphic displaying RFE/RL's viewership behind the Iron Curtain.

Radio Free Europe’s Audience Reach Behind the Iron Curtain

The data graphics below demonstrate Radio Free Europe’s weekly audience reach from 1963 to 1989 in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Audience reach for other foreign broadcasters is shown.

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