Radio Sputnik, Putin’s Propaganda Radio Network, Thrown Off U.S. Airwaves

Stations in Washington, D.C., and Kansas City which had aired programming daily from Voice of Russia’s Radio Sputnik dropped their affiliation with the shows earlier this week, in the wake of the U.S. State Department’s imposition of new sanctions on Russia-backed broadcast outlets last month.

The talk-formatted stations – WZHF Washington, D.C. (1390), which is simulcast on the Reston, VA-licensed FM translator W288BS at 105.5 and is owned by Arthur Yvonne Liu’s Multicultural Radio Broadcasting; and Alpine Broadcasting’s KCXL (1140), which is simulcast on a pair of city-licensed FM translators K275BQ on 102.9 and K284CH on 104.7 FM – had aired Radio Sputnik programming under either time-brokered agreements with Russian government-backed news agency Rossiya Segodnya, or in the case of W288BS, a separate lease arrangement with owner John Garziglia.

September’s sanctions came as a result of State Department officials accusing the Russian government of utilizing its television broadcaster RT to facilitate online fundraisers to help the Russian military procure weapons, body armor, and other items for its ongoing war in Ukraine. According to a source reporting to TheDesk.net, while Sputnik, also owned by the Russian government, was not specifically named by the State Department, the sanctions made it difficult for it to continue leasing time on the radio stations.

The push to shut down Radio Sputnik hit a high point in January when FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel received a letter from Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) calling Sputnik “unfiltered Russian government propaganda,” claiming that “Russia actively exploited the 2016 election and election-related issues, and through Radio Sputnik it is actively seeking to interfere with the 2024 election,” and urging the commission to revoke the licenses of its affiliates.

Among Sputnik’s programs produced by journalists at its stateside studios was “The Critical Hour,” the most recent episode of which referred to the Ukraine conflict as a “proxy war” against Russia that has “had disastrous effects on European economies.” In a statement on KCXL’s website, a station spokesperson defended its airing of Sputnik shows, saying they were “produced in Washington, D.C. by American journalists who jumped at the chance to not be told what to report on by big media and big corporations.”