Ten days before Russian tanks and infantry invaded the democratic and pro-Western Republic of Georgia, the federal government’s Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) terminated all Voice of America (VoA) radio broadcasts to Russia, The Washington Examiner has learned. This means that throughout the still unfolding international crisis, a key communications tool that helped win the Cold War for the United States has been mute.

VoA’s strategic importance cannot be overstated. The Heritage Foundation’s Lee Edwards, who spearheaded the drive to erect the Victims of Communism Memorial on Massachusetts Avenue, recalls that Polish Solidarity Movement leader Lech Walesa was asked at a conference in Washington about the impact VoA had on Soviet dissidents: “Would there be the Earth without the sun?” Walesa replied.