Tomsk newspaper Krasnoye Znamya about radiofication and amateur radio in 1925–1926

Based on the publications of the Tomsk newspaper Krasnoye Znamya [Red Banner], the process of radiofication of Tomsk, Novonikolaevsk and other settlements closest to them in 1925-1926 is described. The features of writing notes on the topic of radio communication in Krasnoye Znamya are considered. After studying the Krasnoye Znamya publications about radio, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1. The authors of the notes on the radio used vocabulary characteristic of that time and that field of activity: “sending radio station”, “very successful loudspeaker was demonstrated”, “radio literature”, “radio maneuvers”, “radio listening”, etc. This suggests that the authors of many publications about radio were either radio specialists or radio amateurs. 2. Most of the publications do not have an author specified. Sometimes the real surnames of the authors are replaced by initials or pseudonyms, possibly radio names. Among the notes reviewed by the author for the period 19251926 on this topic, only three surnames have initials, of which only the surname of the Tomsk radio specialist A. S. Balakshin has full initials. 3. At the local level, publications about radio are very specific in content and practically devoid of ideological overtones, which is probably due to restrictions on the volume of published notes. 4. Finally, the frequency of publications on this topic indicates a genuine public interest in radio. After all, it was this type of communication that for the first time made it possible to transmit not only Morse code, but also human speech and music over long distances. The successes of radiofication of Tomsk and its environs during this period were undoubted, and the journalists of Krasnoye Znamya tried to tell their readers about these achievements in a timely manner and, as far as possible, contributed to the spread of amateur radio. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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