The Echo of Moscow radio station, the pioneer of independent media in Russia, is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Established in 1990, the radio station was the first in the Soviet Union to provide alternative news and opinions.

No wonder that as early as 1991 they were threatened with being banned from broadcasting – not by the government, but by the so-called State Committee of the State of Emergency.

This was an organization that tried to overthrow the newly emerged democratic regime.

Today the radio broadcasts not only in the capital, but in many cities across Russia and in Chicago.

"Echo of Moscow has two main objectives,” Aleksey Venediktov, the station’s editor-in-chief, told RT. “The first is to organize discussions of the problems Russia faces. This is not easy, as our guests sometimes speak different languages, including professional languages, of course. And the second objective is to force our guests to explain the reasons behind their decisions. People do not always understand the logic behind political decisions, and it's important to let them understand what motivates decision makers.”