POLITICAL AND SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF JAMMING BY USSR OF BOA/BBC BROADCASTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-01617A000500180004-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 20, 1998
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: June 15, 1949
• Content Type: IM

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..~_> BF June 199
POLITICAL ~1`1D`SECURI`1,Y IPa9PLICATTONS OF JA~~+~ING BY USSR OF VOA~BBC BROADCASTS
The jamming of VOA and BBC Russian language broadyc~-assts by transmit-
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tars should be considered as a `tactic~~directly implement ~ basic
Soviet strata of preventing ~Yestern oriented information from reaching Soviet
by
ear~te The timing of the full-scale operation (April 2~.) was probably
Lion of events in the CFM meeting. However, the comple~.ties of a jarntning
operation large enough to cover the 110 frequencies on which VOA and BBC are
currently transmitting, undoubtedly necessitate a large capital investment of
motivated by an immediate desire to withhold from the Soviet population any
knovrled~e of the phenomenal success. of the airlift and the diplomatic surrender
on the Ber7.in blockade, and to give the Kremlin a monopoly on the interpreta-
money, men and material not readily available or quickly assembled: The USSR
began interfering vrith VOA broadcasts yell over a year ago, particularly iri
the Far fast where the techniques for the present large-scale operation were
probably perfected.
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This initial interference was continued._sP~~y,
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(in ca ng at the~ovieti uovernmc,nt was preparing an intricate and vrid
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t me techniques and both foreign and
jamming system, employing~German~ar
domestic equipment. -The present effort requires the USSR to.reallocate same
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of the transmitters used for their o~m foreign broadcasts in order to cover
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the necessary frequencies daring those periods of VOA~BBC full-scale broadcast-
~7oreover, in order to jam those VOA~BBC frequencies operating near their own,
The very use of jarraning has given VOA and BBC wide advertisement and
ing, a fact w~zich probably indicates
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probably has tended to increase the reportedly great curiosity of the Soviet
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citizen in the content of these programs. Estimates ~e that .~Lc ~amrn~.ng air
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effective, ?' +~; ? ~~fA~+; ueness bab~ erta~:ns to
nasmuc as obliteration of these programs appears impossible,
zrithout additional equipmen~9~the Kremlin's willingness to risk an intensifica-
tion of curiosity on the part of Soviet citizens is an illustration of the
regimes desperate obsession to control all sources of information. Since VOA
and BBC represented the greatest brP~ =~ this control, the Kremlin was moved
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to undertake the present,~~bed." interference, and will certainly be intent
on increasing this interference tows close to 100 efficiency as possible.
It seems logical, furthermore, tha jamming will be further extended to
include the V0,4fBBG satellite broadcasts vhen technically feas~ e, In this
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respects trial runs have already been made on transmissions to Poland and
Hungary.
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At Ares ~- `the nam effect on US~ security is the series reducticm
in the presentation of the Westerxx viewpoint on the internal and foreign policies
of the USSR, There are far-reaching military implications of even greater
importance to US ~ecurityy which are brought out by the comparative .success
rr~ u,d,,~ ca ~,o-~s t~uc.~.. ~ntij ~c{a C~ ~unR ~c~. ~~ ~ ~ .~~tv -~
of the Kremlin. in disrupting radio broadcasts. Jamm3.ng of radio
of Soviet proficiency in this fieldare of prime importance to US- military*
time of war greatly complicates military operationsi and present indications
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