The radio station’s Russian designers want Finland or Norway as partners, which already have radio broadcasts in indigenous languages.
Russia wants to establish a new international radio station in the Arctic, which would also cover Finland.
According to Russia, the purpose of the radio station would be to improve connections between the indigenous peoples of the north and to bring visibility to the cultures of the indigenous peoples.
The radio station could have transmitters across the Arctic, initially at least in Russia.
– The idea has been in the air for a long time, but the corona pandemic has driven people into isolation, so now radio could connect people, says came up with an idea for the project (you move to another service) former diplomat Anton Vasilyev.
Vasilyev has worked, among other things, as Russia’s ambassador to Iceland and has been responsible for Arctic affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry. interviewed him over the phone.
According to Vasilyev, radio would be the most affordable means of communication in the Arctic, as it would not require a computer or an Internet connection.
– This would be very important for indigenous peoples, in turn, believes the project told the media Andrei Bryksenkov. interviewed him by phone and email.
The project is still in its infancy and there is no funding for it. According to Bryksenkov, it is not realistic for a radio station to operate on advertising revenue, so outside sponsors are being sought for radio operations.
– We are looking for financing from large Russian companies producing raw materials, for which this would be the responsibility of the business community, Bryksenkov says.
Several Russian oil and gas producers and mining companies operate in the indigenous Russian Arctic.
The Arctic Council will decide on participation in the project
Arctic Council (moving to another service) is an intergovernmental forum with eight member states, including Finland. Permanent members also include organizations representing indigenous peoples. In addition, observer countries and international organizations are involved.
The Permanent Secretariat of the Arctic Council in Norway is aware of the radio station project.
According to , the radio station initiative will be discussed in the Council’s Working Party on Sustainable Development in May. Before that, the Arctic Council does not want to comment on the project.
Russian State News Agency By cup (you switch to another service) the project proposal would have already been submitted to the Arctic Council, but according to Bryksenkov, the official proposal is still being finalized. According to Bryksenkov, the organization running the project first wants to get to know the position of the representatives of the indigenous peoples.
In Russia, however, the project is already being planned on a fairly broad front.
The project organization involves 24 Russian research institutes, authorities and organizations. According to the St. Petersburg newspaper (you will switch to another service) the establishment of the Arctic Radio Station is one of the main tasks of the “Arctic Historical and Cultural World Heritage” project organization.
The project organization was established in early February and operates under the auspices of the university represented by Bryksenkov.
Russia needs another country as a partner
The Arctic Council could provide the project with mainly expert assistance and prestige. However, the approval of the radio station project as a project under the Arctic Council is uncertain, as so many projects are being sought for support from the Arctic Council.
In any case, according to the Council’s rules, Russia should first obtain the support of another Member State for the initiative.
According to Vasilyev and Bryksenkov, Russia or Norway, for example, could be Russia’s potential partners. In both countries there is a national broadcaster that already has broadcasts in different Sámi languages.
According to Bryksenkov, the new radio station could broadcast not only the languages of the indigenous peoples but also English and Russian.
– The first step could be the Barents region, and then we could include other countries, Bryksenkov says.
According to Bryksenkov, the project can move forward quickly. He believes pilot broadcasts would begin as early as this year.
According to , the radio station project is scheduled to be discussed at an academic conference in St. Petersburg after mid-March. in the seminar (you move to another service)the theme of which is the preservation and revitalization of the languages of the northern indigenous peoples.
Finland did not know about the Russian project
Finland’s representative in the Arctic Council was unaware of the Russian radio station project until asked about it by phone.
Ambassador of Finland to the Arctic and Antarctic Petteri Vuorimäki does not believe that the proposal has yet to be formally communicated to other Arctic Council members.
According to Vuorimäki, there would be no reproach in the cultural programs via radio per se, but there would be many issues to be clarified in the international radio project.
– Who pays for it and who guarantees the objectivity and editorial level of the information sent, Vuorimäki says.
Vuorimäki points out that even if in Russia the state could dictate the line of the radio station, the same model would not work elsewhere.
Vuorimäki emphasizes that he is not familiar with the matter. However, he wonders where to find an audience for the new radio station.
Very few would listen to a shortwave station
What is special about the radio station project is that, according to Bryksenkov, the station would transmit at least initially only on shortwave or medium waves.
According to Bryksenkov, Russia would have several high-power radio transmitters ready for use in the project. According to him, useful medium-wave transmitters would be found in St. Petersburg and Moscow, while short-wave transmitters would be found in various parts of Siberia and the Russian Far East.
– There are transmitters in Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk and Khabarovsk. They could cover the whole of northern Russia, Bryksenkov says.
Short and medium wave transmissions would carry far, but the quality of reception would often be poor. It would also be difficult for most listeners to find them on their radios, as these wavebands have hardly been used in Finland for decades.
In the Nordic countries, in practice, only FM stations are listened to, and many receivers no longer even have a short- or medium-wave range.
Another problem for the public would be the use of broadcasting technology.
Vasilyev has suggested that the station use digital broadcasting technology that complies with the so-called DRM standard. However, very few suitable radios have been sold to consumers anywhere in the world.
In an interview with , Vasilyev speculates that digital radio receivers could even be provided to listeners as part of the project.
Bryksenkov, for his part, believes that at first, listeners should also be targeted with old broadcast technology.
“Initially, we could broadcast both digital and analogue radio at the same time, because everyone has an analogue radio receiver,” says Bryksenkov.
You can discuss the subject until Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 11 p.m.