Russian government-funded radio station broadcasts blocks from Capitol Hill

Nestled among the office buildings in downtown Washington, D.C., home to K Street lobbyists and law firms, is Russian government-funded Radio Sputnik that broadcasts online and, since July 1, on a local FM signal.

The D.C. bureau contributes to Sputnik’s English-language news network and webpage while producing seven hours of programs for radio, with most of the rest of the coverage produced in Russia.

Sputnik Editor-in-Chief Mindia Gavasheli, who previously worked for another Russian government-owned media outlet, RT Television, said he believes Sputnik can provide Americans with viewpoints that defy the Democratic and Republican perspectives.

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The hourly Fault Lines, for example, brings together Garland Nixon, a former police officer turned progressive radio host, and Lee Stranahan, a self-identified Donald Trump supporter and former journalist at Breitbart.tv for over six years, through March of 2017.

Nixon says they discuss matters which they feel are ignored by mainstream media, such as the Middle East and Syrian ceasefire. He said he believes U.S. media should stop focusing on Russia, stressing that Democrats should allow special prosecutor Robert Mueller to investigate the Trump-Russia controversy and saying that Americans don’t care about Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

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While the coverage is openly critical of U.S. politicians and corporations, Gavasheli defends the impartiality of his news agency journalists and said the radio programs are intended to provide opinion and foster open debate.

Gavasheli denies any Russian media involvement in the 2016 presidential election.

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Radio Sputnik accepts no advertisement and declined to release the station’s budget or internet audience estimates. It began the move from the rarely-listened-to HD radio to FM shortly after Trump was elected president and is not currently accredited with a seat at the White House.

Approximately 40 journalists, primarily young Americans, are employed by Radio Sputnik in D.C. and Gavasheli said the station does hope to expand its coverage.