RFE/RL'S UKRAINIAN SERVICE

In Brief

• Language: Ukrainian
• Coverage: Three hours a day, including news, talk shows, special reports, and analytical programming. A separately branded product, "Sounds of Life," carries two four-minute packages daily on a national FM network. An hour-long interactive Saturday talk show on that same affiliate reaches millions in Ukraine weekly.
• Frequency: FM, MW, UKW, CBL affiliates and satellite
• Internet: www.radiosvoboda.org, www.radiosvoboda.ua

History

• Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service launched its first broadcast on SW on August 16, 1954. It was broadcasting to what was then called the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
• During the darkest days of Soviet repression in Ukraine, Radio Liberty carried its message of freedom and hope, broadcasting news about the arrests of dissidents, human rights, and religious activists.
• The program "For human and national rights" was aired for decades. The show featured banned writings of activists in Ukraine and the rest of the USSR.

Highlights

• In 2001, Svoboda launched the first-ever interactive radio program in Ukraine. Opposing politicians presented their viewpoints; listeners called in with their questions.
• During the parliamentary elections of 2002, Svoboda aired the first political debate ever held in Ukraine, between Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko and then-presidential chief of staff Viktor Medvedchuk.
• In June 2008, Svoboda launched its newly revamped website.