Internet Broadcasting Has Begun

On October 23 the Ukrayina.Ru (www.ukraine.ru) Internet publication started broadcasting programs of the leading Ukrainian TV channels (1+1, Inter, UT-1, STB, and ICTV) on its web site, live and at full volume. According to the information placed on the web site, the creation of this project was motivated primarily by the fact that for years Ukrainians living in Russia were isolated from the Ukrainian information theater. Although it is too early to speak about establishing a complete information balance between Russia and Ukraine, at least a serious step was made in this direction. Incidentally, as Oleksandr Rodniansky, general producer of 1+1 Television Company, said at the presentation of this project in Moscow, “This is only the first stage of an absolutely new level in developing Russian-Ukrainian relations in the information space.”

Perhaps the renewed broadcasting the Vremia Russian news program in Ukraine can be considered part of the same picture. According to Interfax Ukraine, First Deputy Chairman of Verkhovna Rada Viktor Medvedchuk, answering journalists’ question, said that beginning from October 23 Inter began broadcasting Vremia in the evening. And on October 20 Inter began transmitting its programs via satellite, so now people can watch it not only in Russia but in European countries. “We must exchange information space,” the first vice speaker noted. “The new Russian policy is to make it possible not only for Ukrainian citizens to watch Russia’s NTV, TV-6, ORT, and RTR, but for Russians to watch Ukrainian channels,” said Mr. Medvedchuk.

If a Ukrainian TV channel meets the wishes of Russian-speaking population of the country and simultaneously an Internet project appears supplying Russians with an access to information from Ukraine, this might serve as a signal for both Ukrainian and Russian officials to solve the problem of the full volume broadcast of Ukrainian television in Russia.