Russian Foreign-Language Media 'Make Splash Abroad', Vex Politicians

Russian media producing content aimed at foreign audiences have made a splash abroad, judging by vexed reaction from politicians, Russia’s Mass Communications Vice Minister Alexey Volin said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Volin commented on projects launched by Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency and Sputnik International News Service, in an interview marking 75 years since the creation of the Soviet Information Bureau, a leading Soviet news agency.

"Their nervousness means they are reading, listening, paying attention and reacting [to us]," the minister said. "This means that Sputnik is fulfilling its objectives. We have created a serious instrument."

The communications deputy chief reflected on mistakes made by the Soviet Information Bureau. He said that the US federal government’s external broadcaster Voice of America and UK state broadcaster BBC were a hit with Soviet people because they provided an alternative point of view on life in the USSR.

"Audiences take interest primarily in their own problems. The problem with Soviet broadcasters was that they told their audiences only about the Soviet Union. Why did people tune into the VoA and BBC in the Soviet Union? … To learn what was going on in the USSR," Volin said.

"People have always been curious about a different take on events in their own country," the minister concluded.

The Sputnik multimedia group is an umbrella brand for news agencies and radio stations with multimedia hubs in dozens of countries and broadcasting in dozens of languages.

Last November, the Polish broadcasting regulator banned a local radio from airing Sputnik shows, claiming it violated the country’s laws on radio and television.