This weekend spells the end of the BBC World Service’s radio output in Russian and the closure of the broadcaster’s main medium wave frequency in western Europe. It comes after the Foreign Office funding for the service was cut by 16% in the government’s spending review last October.

The broadcaster is to air its final radio programmes in Russian on Saturday evening, after 65 years, as the service is axed as part of the corporation’s spending cuts. It is axing three Russian-language programmes and is also stopping its short- and medium-wave broadcasts to Russia in English. It will, however, continue to produce three other online-only Russian programmes at bbcrussian.com

The head of BBC Russian, Sarah Gibson, said in a statement: “This is a sad time for all of us at BBC Russian. We are also proud of the unique heritage our broadcasts have left behind – in the hearts and minds of millions of radio listeners.”