Romanian radio: Radio Bessarabia

Radio Chisinau is a radio station from the Republic of Moldova, belonging to the Romanian Broadcasting Society. The first radio station from Chisinau was inaugurated by the Romanian Broadcasting Society on October 8, 1939, under the name of Radio Basarabia, and after 72 years, SRR relaunches Radio Chisinau on December 1, 2011.

Radio Basarabia in 1940

History

The years 1937-1940

Chisinau City Hall ceded to the Romanian Broadcasting Society, in 1937, the building of the former Pushkin Auditorium on King Carol I street (corner with Sfatul Country Street) to open the first radio station in Chisinau, to counter Soviet propaganda. On October 30, 1930, in Tiraspol a radio station began to broadcast whose main purpose was anti-Romanian propaganda to Moldova between Prut and Dniester; the transmitter put into operation in Tiraspol in 1930 had 4 kW. In 1936, the new broadcast station, M. Gorki, was also built in Tiraspol, which allowed a much greater coverage of the territory of Bessarabia. This is the context in which, in the winter of 1937, the planning works of the former Pushkin Auditorium began and the contracts for the restoration of the facilities and the technical equipment were awarded to companies from Romania and abroad. Marconi company was to install in Chisinau the 20 kW transmitter. which became the best in Romania due to the modern anti-fading antenna that reduces radiation and promotes the propagation of waves travelling close to the surface of the ground. The measurements made after the installation of the station showed that Radio Basarabia covers with very good results the territory between Siret and Dniester. The reception was clear and strong, both day and night, virtually eliminating the influence of Russian stations in Tiraspol and Odessa. The experimental broadcasts started in the first days of June 1939 but the daily program was reduced to 2 hours, between 21:00 and 23:00. The first radio station in Chisinau was „twice as powerful as the one in Bucharest or Tiraspol”, he wrote Gazette of Bessarabia in July 1939. Radio Chisinau is a radio station from the Republic of Moldova, belonging to the Romanian Broadcasting Society. The first radio station from Chisinau was inaugurated by the Romanian Broadcasting Society on October 8, 1939, under the name of Radio Basarabia, and after 72 years, SRR relaunches Radio Chisinau on December 1, 2011.

The building of the radio station in Chisinau in 1937, at the beginning of the construction work

Radio Bessarabia, lost in 1940

The invasion of Bessarabia by the Soviet armies in June 1940 meant the loss of the Radio Bessarabia station.

However, most of the reserve materials, personnel and archive were withdrawn to Huşi, but not the 20 kW transmitter.

After the return of the Romanian armies and administration to Bessarabia, SRR sent to Chisinau Eng. Emil Petraşcu and Alexandru Hodoş to evaluate the damage caused by the Russian armies in retreat.

The station building, the transmitter and the antenna pillars were destroyed by dynamite and all radio-reception equipment had been confiscated.

The opening of the Radio Moldova station in Iasi in November 1941 allowed the resumption of radio transmissions in the lands of Moldova, Bukovina, Bessarabia and Transnistria.

It will issue uninterruptedly until March 1944, when the realities on the front forced its evacuation.

The source: Radiofonie românească: Radio Basarabia [online] [citat 19.03.20]. Disponible: romania-actualitati.ro, wikipedia.org