OSA / Guide / Fonds / HU OSA 300-81

HU OSA	300-81 C
Authority entry:	Monitoring Unit

Names Soviet Monitoring

Date(s) and Place(s) of existence 19[56]-1992

Business location

RFE/RL Inc., Oettingenstr. 67, Am Englischen Garten, 8000 München 22, West Germany

Mandate, functions and sphere of activity

Monitoring Unit was founded to support broadcasting from the most beginning of Radio Liberty activity. Monitoring in Radio Liberty began with radio and later expended to television. Conceptually the monitroing of radio and television programs was separate from monitoring of the print press and it was handled by different staff. In 50-70s the Unit monitored radio programs from Moscow, Kiev and Minsk. The monitoring materials were organized into bulletins. The changes in the titles of bulletins reflected both the political changes in the targeted countries and in structure and approaches of the Unit and Radios in a whole. Thus, in early 80s the title was changed from "RL Monitoring" to "Radio Liberty Monitoring: Soviet Media Daily Digest".
In later 70s the Ukrainian Servicce Monitroing was formed within the Unit, that compiled the bulletins "News and Commentaries Broadcast by Ukrainian Radio".
In November 1990 the Unit was integrated into Radoi Free Europe/Radio Liberty Research Institute as a part of the Information Resources Department and continued to support broadcasting as well as other units of Research Institute.
By 1991 radio and two television channes from Moscow were monitored. It was monitoring of a regular news programs plus on-demand monitoring. Transcripts of these materials along with materials from Soviet news agencies and press clippings were included into 30-40 pages length bulletins. Several issues of bulletins were produced daily: 2-3 in Russian language and 12 in Ukrainian. In addition a Baltic Press Survey in Russian was issued twice a week.

Administrative structure

The unit was closed on September 30, 1992, and the daily radio and TV monitoring and daily press clippings service was moved to a contractor based in Moscow. According to the contract with the What Papers Say Infromation Agency, 4 radio an 4 TV channels were monitored. During 1993-1994, on-demand TV monitoring was done some staff members of Slavic, Baltic and Eurasia Archives to supplement the scheduled monitoring done by WPS. 678 video cassets were recorded.
Press clippings were faxed to Munich daily and radio and TV monitoring transcrips were sent electronically. These files were entered into internal system (Newswire) for electronic dissemination to broadcasters. In addition to electronic materials the files were printed out and comliled into three paper publictaions.
Since newspapers and jurnals from Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Transcaucasia have been extremely difficult to aquire since the braekup of the Soviet Union, a new delivery system by courier service was developed. Th econtracts for monitoring Ukrainian, Belarus and Latviam press were also signed in the period of 1992-1993. Belarus monitroing materiasl began to arrive from Minsk on 20 January. A new Latvian Press Survey, compiled in Riga and sent daily to Minich by fax was began on the 7th of September 1993.
In addition to monitoring activity the Unit archived materials by subjects that later formed separate collections: the Former Soviet Union Archives, The Russian Monitroing Archives, The Belarus Monitroing Arcves, and Ukrainian Monitroing Archives. These particular archives have been taken to Prague where Open Media Research Institute staff members continued to work on them.

Other significant information

At various stages of its existance the Unit employed between 10 and 20 people. Victor Werbitsky was a head of the unit, placed by Alexander Robinovic in the early 90s.

Rules or conventions

ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families General Intenational Standard Archival Description; OSA Internal Rules.

Dates of description

Prepared by Olga Zaslavskaya, 31 January 2002
Online version updated 18 December 2008