I have a sense of deja-vu, yet on a whole different level.
In 1984 I, a Soviet schoolboy, got my first transistor radio with a short wave receiver. Not long after I stumbled upon the “enemy voices” – “The Voice of America” and “Radio Liberty”. Well, the lure of the unknown and the desire to get an alternative view kept me tuning in to the oft-barely discernable audio of these stations. They were blocked and often-times it was almost impossible to get a good signal. Their programs were interesting – some music, some historic programs, some incomprehensible to the mind of a youngster, going right over the top of my head. The historic programs were probably of most interest to me, and a second opinion was important to form a complete view, but I always had a nagging feeling of a hidden agenda. Only many years later, thinking back on those early mornings (the best reception time), I came to realise that they were trying to form a nationalist world-view in the Russians. In today’s world, a nationalist Russian is known as a Ukrainian…
But despite all that, it was important to have a second point of view, and it is my firm belief that the greatest mistake the Soviet government did, was to try to block these “voices”, instead of making them a part of the official newsfront, with explanatory commentary. Take today’s Russia. On today’s “Vesti” (the News at 20:00) they devoted almost 1/3 of the air time to re-transmission of what was aired on the American TV – CNN, FoxNews, official statements from the US President, commentary of the American analysts. This way a Russian person knows exactly what is happening on the other side of the border, what is being said and though about Russia.