Microsoft Word - fullpdf07022025 Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 7 N 2, 2025 218 Georgian Scientists ქართველი მეცნიერები Vol. 7 Issue 2, 2025 https://doi.org/10.52340/gs.2025.07.02.20 History of Science Georgian Radio During the Second World War and in the Years After the War Nanuli Talakhadze1, Natia Nakhutsrishvili1, Sandro Bakhtadze2 1I.Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University; 2Geoaeronavigation Company Abstract This paper is a continuation of the article “The Initial Stages of the History of Georgian Radio” presented by the authors. The course of World War II was widely covered by Georgian radio from the moment it began. On June 22, 1941, at 12 noon, the All-Union Radio broadcast a message from the Soviet government about the German attack on the USSR and announced general mobilization. The outbreak of the war partially eased the tension caused by repressions in the country and set new tasks for the Georgian Radio Committee. In this article, we will discuss the role of Georgian radio broadcasting in these processes. Keywords: Georgian radio broadcasting, second world war On June 22, 1941, at 12 noon, the All-Union Radio broadcast a message from the Soviet government about the German attack on the USSR and announced a general mobilization. The outbreak of war partially eased the tension caused by the repressions in the country and set new tasks for the Georgian Radio Committee. There were also some personnel changes - from June 1941, the chairman of the committee, Shalva Tsagareishvili, was replaced by Ioseb Rukhadze. The resolution of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia “On the Work of Radio Broadcasting” of December 26, 1941 specifically states that the Georgian Radio Committee must urgently change its work in accordance with the new conditions and pay primary attention to military topics, expand collective listening to broadcasts, which is the main part of the radio’s propaganda and organizational work, and establish and take care of improving technical facilities and the qualifications of specialists in a number of regions of the republic. Every word spoken on the air was subject to control, and this is evidenced by numerous government and party documents. For example, on June 16, 1942, the resolution of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia “On the Organization of Front Radio Broadcasting” emphasized that “radio is the Party’s sharp weapon” and listed the exact plan and participants of the radio broadcast intended for the front (speech by the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia V. Bakradze, academicians I. Beritashvili and S. Janashia, poet S. Chikovani, People’s Artist of Georgia A. Khorava, as well as leading representatives of the working class, peasantry, and army, etc.). Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 7 N 2, 2025 219 First of all, changes were planned in news broadcasting, which was to become a source of operational information on current events. However, it was still not possible to develop an appropriate concept, which was due to the lack of qualified creative personnel and the scarcity of original materials. In addition, in terms of receiving official messages, international information and other materials, the Georgian Radio Committee was completely dependent on Sakdes, which provided these materials with a long delay and could not be transmitted immediately. The repressions carried out among the Radio Committee staff also played a negative role. As noted in the reporting report of those years: a breakthrough in the work of the Radio Committee began in the spring of 1942, when the central apparatus was cleansed of hostile elements and replenished with new workers. Ioseb Rukhadze was also replaced. The chairman of the Georgian Radio Committee was the famous film director, Honored Artist Leo Esakia, whose name is associated with the implementation of important radio broadcasting events. Until 1943, Georgian Radio began broadcasting at 7:00 a.m. from Moscow with the "Latest News", and at 7:30 a.m. the first edition of "Latest News" was broadcast in Georgian. From the second half of 1943, the situation changed and daily broadcasting began at 6:30 a.m. with the Georgian edition of "Latest News", and Georgian workers, before starting work, were given the opportunity to listen to the most important news of the day (reports of the Soviet Information Bureau, correspondence with the Patriotic War front, resolutions of the Supreme Soviet, foreign news). Over time, the radio audience, consisting of residents of cities and villages who did not know the Russian language, increased significantly. The second event was also very important: the Georgian Radio Committee failed to receive Sakdes' materials in time, so during the war it was decided to record the Union Radio's operational information on the Shorinophone, which was immediately decoded and, after proper testing, broadcast in Georgian. This entire process lasted from 15 to 30 minutes. In an extremely short time, the most important state notices, decrees and other materials became known to everyone in Georgian. Similarly, the listeners were provided with the leading article of the newspaper "Pravda" and reviews of central newspapers. Also, the texts of speeches of leading party and Soviet workers broadcast by the Union Radio were recorded and translated on the Shorinophone, some of which were not printed in the central press. In this way, the Georgian Radio Committee provided great assistance to the editorial offices of the republic's magazines and newspapers and other propaganda organs. Part of the materials received from Moscow, which it did not use, was transferred to the republican press, where it was published under the heading: “Received through the Georgian Radio Committee”. Before the war, attention was also focused on the material and technical base of the radio, and since 1940 it included: the transmitting radio station RV-7, four studios, equipment (amplifier, recorder, transmitter), receiving and technical control stations. Compared to previous years, the receiving center could broadcast from Moscow much better. Radio transmission networks were expanded and new radio nodes were built. A total of 34 radio stations were operating throughout the republic. On January 21, 1941, by decision of the leadership of the Georgian Radio Committee, the use of radio for international and military reviews, as well as theoretical transmission of conversations, was prohibited, except for materials sent by the Charity Committee. The local radio broadcasting trustees were instructed to "build local broadcasting only on local material and organize collective listening to lectures and reports on radio station RV-7." In the same year, by order of the Union Radio Committee, the Propaganda and Agitation Editorial Office and the "Latest News" were merged and renamed the Political Broadcasting Editorial Office. All political materials were collected here, and the total duration of broadcasting was 3 hours and 45 minutes a day. The editing of political broadcasting, in addition to the latest reports, included: political discussion (twice a week), agricultural programs (five times a week), translation of the leading article of "Pravda", programs for young people (4 times a week). Broadcasting was carried out in four languages - Georgian, Russian, Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 7 N 2, 2025 220 Armenian and Azerbaijani. S. Natelashvili was appointed acting head of the United Editorial Department of Political Broadcasting, K. Mavzarashvili - editor of agricultural issues - A. Kekelia, in economics - I. Natroshvili. "Latest News" was the most operational source of information for the Georgian population and was broadcast in Georgian and Russian 6 times a day, and since 1944 - 7 times. In addition to information about the course of the war, reports were made from meetings and rallies held in various industrial establishments and collective farms, from speeches of workers at the microphone calling for the protection of Soviet achievements, as well as about the state of materials. The public economy was broadcast, assistance was provided to the families of Red Army soldiers, etc. It is noteworthy that during the war the Radio Committee received a large number of letters from listeners, including questions, responses and cards of gratitude. In the spring of 1943, an article was sent to the newspaper "Pravda" about the patriotic initiative of the Fedukinsky school, which was expressed in the care of children who went to the front. Several cards and questions were received by the editorial office of "Latest News" the very next day. In response, the radio invited the Deputy People's Commissar of Education of Georgia, M. Burchuladze, who addressed the workers of the republic. They responded to this initiative and mobilized to help the families of Red Army soldiers. It should be said that such cards were often drawn up by the editors themselves, creating the illusion that the workers were enthusiastically responding to public initiatives, although, in reality, the mass of workers and peasants was really active in this regard. From the very first days of the war, all citizens of the USSR (except for those who had special permission to do so) were forbidden to use any radio receiver at home, except for a cable broadcast player. Everyone had to hand over their radio receivers to the state for safekeeping, and for this purpose, gigantic warehouses of radio equipment were organized throughout the Soviet Union (in 1945-1946 alone, about 1.3 million radio receivers were confiscated from their owners). Those who did not hand over their domestic radio equipment were immediately arrested. The goal of this entire campaign was to prevent ordinary citizens from receiving information other than that from Soviet radio (by the way, the same rule was in effect in fascist Germany during the war). Obviously, under such conditions of information dissemination, Soviet radio broadcasting was granted a complete monopoly, which itself was subject to censorship and control by punitive bodies and could select facts and comment on them with a bias. Every fact or event was considered in accordance with the general propaganda task. The main slogans were: "Our cause is just! The enemy will be destroyed! We will remain! Everything for the front, everything for victory!" It was impossible to say that the Germans sometimes fight better than us, that some of their weapons are better than ours, etc. As is known, the front news was mainly provided to the radio by the specially organized "Sovinformburo" during the war years (its reports on military operations were broadcast several times a day on Georgian radio, which usually often embellished them, and sometimes grossly distorted them (especially in the first months of the war). During the war, the number of propaganda programs on the radio significantly increased, the purpose of which was to spread the idea of the invincibility of the Soviet Union in World War II, the vanguard role of the Communist Party, the widespread propaganda of Soviet patriotism and hatred of the enemies of the Soviet country, and the strengthening of broad public support for the country's leadership and military policy pursued by the military leader. For this purpose, materials collected from the Union Radio and central or republican magazines were mainly used. For example, "The Soviet People Defend the Achievements of the Great October Revolution", "The Soviet Back is Strong", "The Power of Stalin's Prophecy", "Our Heroic Strong Army", "The destruction of German fascism is inevitable", etc. Gradually, the number of original programs increased, the authors of which were famous party and Soviet workers, political and public figures, whose words could influence radio listeners and the formation of public opinion. The radio did not leave the intelligentsia without attention either, and with a special column "Our Soviet Intelligence" invited Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 7 N 2, 2025 221 famous people, prominent figures of science and art to the microphone: S. Janashia, N. Ketskhoveli, N. Muskhelishvili, V. Kupradze, I. Beritashvili and others. Georgian Radio paid special attention to issues of military training, air and chemical defense ("How to destroy an enemy tank", "How to fight enemy paratroopers", "How to remove an incendiary grenade", "How to behave during an alarm", etc.). Since 1943, when the tension at the front eased and the war entered a turning point, the radio has occupied a wider place. It was devoted to the rear workers and the coverage of various branches of the public economy. There was almost no district or village left in Georgia about which information or materials of other genres had not been disseminated. Agricultural specialists - agronomists, economists, veterinarians - appeared at the microphone. Telephone communications improved, which made it easier to connect with the districts and receive and transmit important information in a timely manner. The financial and political campaign of the war period, the problems of realizing the Third State Military Loan, the issues of rationalization of production, mobilization of domestic resources, the economic regime, and socialist competitions were systematically covered in the cycles: “Participants' Tribune. During the general social competitions, "Advanced Enterprises at the Microphone", "General Attention and Assistance to Families at the Front", "Our Transport and Industry", special attention was paid to the Transcaucasian Railway, which did a lot for the work of the public economy and front-line services. Every Wednesday, under the rubric "Technical Propaganda", lectures-consultations and special conversations were often held for railway workers on the topic "The Second Industrial Center of Georgia", from Gori - "The Homeland of the Great Stalin", from the Avchala Champagne Factory - "Give High-Quality Champagne to the Workers", from the Lilo settlement - "Old and New Big Lilo", etc. The Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (B.) was the main source of information, although it is difficult to say how complete and objective information it provided to listeners, since it controlled the content of radio broadcasts. Until the middle of the war, original materials depicting war and front-line events were rarely broadcast; materials collected from the Union Radio Committee and the press were mainly used. This deficit was somewhat compensated by historical themes, which were an effective means of raising patriotic spirits and manipulating national feelings. The column “Our Heroic Ancestors” was used to broadcast conversations about personalities dedicated to Georgia and heroic episodes from their lives, for example, “David the Builder and the Struggle for Georgia’s Independence”, “Vakhtang Gorgasali”, “Queen Tamar”, “Giorgi Saakadze”, “Erekle II” and others. At the same time, the rubric "The Heroic Past of the USSR" appeared, which mainly represented the history of Russia and only to a small extent the past of other republics, for example: "The Russian People in the First Patriotic War", "Battle. Borodino", "Minin and Pozharsky", "The Role of the Partisan Movement in the Patriotic War of 1812", etc. During the war, interest in international topics especially increased. Political pamphlets were often distributed - mainly translated materials. Among them, the articles of M. Zoshchenko, V. Kataev and especially I. Ehrenburg were very popular: "Cursed Berlin", "Walking in Fritzland", "Our People are the Guarantor of This" and others. Child murderers have no place on earth, everything must be exposed and all criminals must be punished. We must dig up all the executioners, and since we value a man so much, we want all his enemies to be punished - the author's pathetic and revealing tone, uncompromising, sharp satire, raised the fighting and patriotic spirit of the people. I. Ehrenburg's articles were almost always read by announcer David Dzigua. The tone of his voice and the persuasiveness of his reading made a great impression on the listener. In addition, it should be noted the heavy language of the translated materials, faulty sentences. Georgian pamphlets and satirists had not yet appeared at the microphone. Germane Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 7 N 2, 2025 222 Shubitidze's pamphlet on an international topic appeared several times in radio broadcasts, although it was not distinguished by its political sharpness. If we look at the statistical data, the number of thematic programs according to the reports of 1942 is as follows: “News about the Patriotic War Front” — 508 programs, “Soviet Rear” — 51 programs, celebration of important dates — 61 programs. , “Partisan Battle” — 14 programs. By authors: Georgian authors — 226 programs, Russian authors — 282 programs, sister republics (without Russian) — 17 programs. As can be seen from these data, the abundance of Russian-language programs is striking, which was caused by the increase in the number of Russian and non-Georgian listeners in our republic. From the second half of 1942, the share of original programs by journalists of the Georgian Radio Committee increased significantly, which was a result of their connection with the front. Many radio correspondents themselves became eyewitnesses of the war. The resolution "On the work of military correspondents" adopted by the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army authorized the leadership of the press and radio broadcasting to send their own correspondents to the front, who would be enrolled in the Red Army cadres and provide materials to the relevant information media. The military correspondents were instructed to show the people on the front line, the Red Army fighters and commanders who were well versed in military equipment and combat tactics, their initiative, agility in the fight against the enemy, their hatred of the German fascists, their strength, self-sacrifice and discipline. Execution of orders from the command. Materials by special correspondents of the radio and authors working in the army, essays on famous Georgian soldiers, episodes from the front-line life of heroes of the USSR were broadcast three times a week under the new heading "Famous Children of the Georgian People in the Patriotic War": "Georgian Street in Kremenchug", "Georgian Defenders of Stalingrad", "Captain Bukhaidze", "Georgian Guardsmen", "The Gulvardashvili Brothers", etc. In parallel, live performances of soldiers were organized at the microphone. Soldiers and officers who participated in the defense of Stalingrad, the guards of Major General Nikoloz Tavartkiladze, participants in the battles near Novorossiysk, Anapa and Taman were invited to the studio. Thus, Georgian radio broadcasting played a major role in covering the course of World War II. By the end of the 1950s, it was finally formed in technical-organizational and professional terms, with a powerful material-technical base and is engaged in broadcasting throughout the republic. Its public functions have long been defined, the specificity of radio images and on-air modifications of the journalistic genre have been mastered, and an organizational structure has been formed. In addition, it is an agency of union-republican subordination and simultaneously experiences the influence of both the unified centralized system of broadcasting and local government bodies, any changes in the state information structure. After the above-mentioned reforms, in 1978, the State Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Georgia was finally formed - this name remained with it until the end of Soviet power. ლიტერატურა UITSSA of Georgia (archive) 1978, 258, p. 8, 19, 30, 34-35, 72. საქართველოს უისცა (არქივი) 1978, 258, გვ. 8, 19, 30, 34-35, 72. Bakradze A. (1990) The taming of the literature. Tbilisi, 56. ბაქრაძე, ა. (1990) მწერლობის მოთვინიერება. თბილისი, 56. Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 7 N 2, 2025 223 მეცნიერების ისტორია ქართული რადიო მეორე მსოფლიო ომის დროს და ომის შემდგომ წლებში ნ.ტალახაძე1, ნ.ნახუცრიშვილი1, ს.ბახტაძე2, 1ი.ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი; 2საქაერონავიგაციის კომპანია რეზიუმე ნაშრომი წარმოადგენს ავტორების სტატიის „ქართული რადიოს ისტორიის საწყისი ეტაპები“ გაგრძელებას. მეორე მსოფლიო ომის მიმდინარეობა დაწყების დღიდან ფართოდ გააშუქა ქართულმა რადიომ. 1941 წლის 22 ივნისს, შუადღის 12 საათზე, საკავშირო რადიომ საბჭოთა ხელისუფლებისგან გაავრცელა შეტყობინება სსრკ-ზე გერმანიის თავდასხმის შესახებ და გამოაცხადა საყოველთაო მობილიზაცია. ომის დაწყებამ ნაწილობრივ განმუხტა ქვეყანაში რეპრესიებით გამოწვეული დაძაბულობა და საქართველოს რადიოკომიტეტს ახალი ამოცანები დაუსვა. ამ სტატიაში განვიხილავთ ქართული რადიომაუწყებლობის როლს ამ პროცესებში.