The launch of the largest Soviet radio station and the historic battle that inspired the construction of Moscow’s most beautiful monastery made this day in Russian history.
USSR’s alternative to BBC starts broadcasting
On this day in 1964, one of the USSR’s largest radio stations, “Mayak,” started broadcasting.
Radio Mayak, or “Lighthouse,” was created as a counterbalance to Western broadcasters, such as Voice of America, BBC and Deutsche Welle.
It played light music and broadcast news on a 24-hour basis, which was a novelty for Soviet listeners.
The frequency of Mayak overlapped with foreign stations and blocked them. Once the jamming stopped with Perestroik, Mayak proved a popular alternative to Western broadcasters.
Read more on this day in Russian history
Historic battle inspires Moscow’s most beautiful monastery
Russia’s Prince Vasily III won a historic victory on this day in 1514.
After a two-week siege, he entered the town of Smolensk in western Russia, which had been controlled by Lithuania for more than a century prior to that.
The annexation of the rich and well-developed Smolensk region was an important step in the consolidation of Russian territories around Moscow.
To celebrate the victory Vasily III founded the Novodevichy – or New Maidens’ – Monastery.