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Soviet Information Bureau (russian: Советское информационное бюро, translit=Sovetskoye informatsionnoye byuro, commonly known as Sovinformburo []) was a leading Soviet Union, Soviet news agency, operating from 1941 to 1961.
Operation
The Axis powers , Axis Operation Barbarossa , invasion of the Soviet Union started on 22 June 1941, opening the
Eastern Front of World War II
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...
. On 24 June 1941 a directive of
Sovnarkom
The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...
and the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...
established the Sovinformburo "to bring into the limelight international events, military developments, and day-to-day life through printed and broadcast media".
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the Sovinformburo directed the activity of the
All-Slavonic Committee, the
Anti-Fascist Committee of Soviet Women, the
Anti-Fascist Committee of the Soviet Youth, the
Anti-Fascist Committee of Soviet Scientists and the
Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee
The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, ''Yevreysky antifashistsky komitet'' yi, יידישער אנטי פאשיסטישער קאמיטעט, ''Yidisher anti fashistisher komitet''., abbreviated as JAC, ''YeAK'', was an organization that was created i ...
(JAC). In 1944 a special bureau on propaganda for foreign countries was set up as part of Sovinformburo.
Mass Media in Russia
In 1961 the Sovinformburo was transformed into Novosti Press Agency which was succeeded by RIA Novosti
RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asse ...
in 1991 and, in 2013, by International Information Agency Russia Today.
Yuri Levitan
Yuri Borisovich Levitan (russian: Юрий Борисович Левитан, 2 October 1914 – 4 August 1983) was the primary Soviet radio announcer during and after World War II. He announced on Radio Moscow all major international events i ...
made the radio announcements on Radio Moscow
Radio Moscow ( rus, Pадио Москва, r=Radio Moskva), also known as Radio Moscow World Service, was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1993. It was reorganized with a new name ...
(known for its " Wide is My Motherland" call-sign). While Radio Moscow always started its announcements with the words "Moscow is speaking" (russian: Govorit Moskva, script=latn, label=none), during the Axis aggression against the Soviet Union in World War II broadcasts came from Sverdlovsk (today Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
) until 1943, when activity moved to Kuibyshev (present-day Samara) until 1945.
The Soviet Information Bureau never announced the fall of Kiev in 1941.
Chairmen
* Aleksandr Sergeevich Scherbakov (1941–1945)
* Solomon Abramovich Lozovsky (1946–1947)
* Boris Nikolaevich Ponomarev (1947–1961)
Radio announcers
* Yuri Levitan
Yuri Borisovich Levitan (russian: Юрий Борисович Левитан, 2 October 1914 – 4 August 1983) was the primary Soviet radio announcer during and after World War II. He announced on Radio Moscow all major international events i ...
See also
*Eastern Bloc information dissemination
Eastern Bloc media and propaganda was controlled directly by each country's communist party, which controlled the state media, censorship and propaganda organs. State and party ownership of print, television and radio media served as an important ...
*Censorship in the Soviet Union
Censorship in the Soviet Union was pervasive and strictly enforced.
Censorship was performed in two main directions:
* State secrets were handled by the General Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press (also known as Glavli ...
*Propaganda in the Soviet Union
Propaganda in the Soviet Union was the practice of state-directed communication to promote class conflict, internationalism, the goals of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the party itself.
The main Soviet censorship body, Glavl ...
References
{{Authority control
Mass media in the Soviet Union
Soviet propaganda organizations
1941 establishments in the Soviet Union
Mass media companies established in 1941
1961 disestablishments in the Soviet Union
Eastern Bloc mass media
News agencies based in Russia