Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a nonprofit corporation that provides international communications service to Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East. It broadcasts in dozens of the languages used in these regions. The United States government established RFE/RL to oppose attempts by Communist governments of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to isolate their citizens from information about the world. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, Communists lost control of nearly all these governments. In 1991, the Soviet Union broke up into a number of independent states. RFE/RL is funded by grants from the U.S. Congress.
People from the listening areas write and produce most RFE/RL programs. Many of the programs consist of news and news analysis, and they focus on current events in the audience countries. RFE/RL operates many news bureaus in audience countries. Other RFE/RL programs describe cultural and religious activities and offer background information about economic, historical, and political matters.
Radio Free Europe began broadcasting to Eastern Europe in 1950, and Radio Liberty started broadcasting to the Soviet Union in 1953. In 1976, the networks merged and formed RFE/RL, Inc. RFE/RL broadcasting headquarters are in Prague, Czech Republic.
