page_title: Broadcasting in the Soviet Union
section_title: Regional services
hierarchical_section_title: Broadcasting in the Soviet Union / Regional services
context_page_description: Broadcasting in the Soviet Union was owned by the Soviet state, and was under its tight control and Soviet censorship. Through the development of satellites and SECAM, controlled broadcasting was initialized as the main frequency for distributing information and entertainment. Under the control of the Soviet Union, censorship and limitation on information was filtered for the citizens to ensure the common culture and socialist ideals were maintained.
  The USSR State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, the Soviet Union's governing body of broadcasting, was in charge both of television networks and radio stations. During this time of political propaganda and war, controlling the large and spread out population meant censorship and lock downs on the freedom of public speaking. Soviet Russia did not tolerate "a slip of the tongue."
context_section_description: In addition to the national radio and television channels, each SSR and ASSR had its own state radio and television company or state broadcasting committees, although other regions were allowed regional state broadcasting companies/committees.  Taking the Chechen-Ingush ASSR as an example, one would see that there was a lot of flexibility in the Soviet radio and television system.
  Like other areas of the Soviet Union, the four national television channels, Radio Mayak, the All-Union First and Third Programmes, and (if equipped with appropriate transmitters) Radio Moscow would be broadcast by either a Television and Radio Company of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or by a State Committee on Radio and Television Broadcasting.  However, in the First Programme (TV) and in the All-Union First Programme (radio), the Company/Committee was allowed to broadcast regional programming alongside the official First Programme/All-Union First Programme schedule. Depending on the political status of an administrative division, the Company/Committee would broadcast the regional programming in either Russian or the local language.  In the Chechen-Ingush ASSR's case, the regional programmes would be broadcast in Russian, Chechen, or Ingush.
  The Company/Committee would also broadcast additional channels for their coverage area only.  Such cases were usually a second programme, known by a special name, in the main language of the SSR/ASSR.  Other districts had their own local programming, and cities such as Moscow and Leningrad had special programs, broadcasting only in the evening and on FM.
caption: Chechen-Ingush ASSR