Amateur DJ is a big hit on village radio

An amateur radio DJ tells his neighbors how their crops are doing and plays songs on people’s birthdays. Alexey Kozlov has become a true celebrity in the village of Dmitrievskaya, in the Krasnodar Region which is in Southern Russia.

An old tape deck, a worn-out microphone and a primitive amplifier – not much for a serious sound studio. But in his village, retired engineer Aleksey Kozlov is the most popular radio personality on the airwaves.  He set up loudspeakers on the roof of his house and started to broadcast.

“My fellow-villagers help me. Old friends come over and bring me an amplifier or repair the tape recorder when it’s out of order,” the village DJ says.

Every morning at seven and every afternoon at five, Kozlov’s station “Stanichnye Zori” goes live to amuse and inform the good folks of Dmitrievskaya.

Even though almost everyone in this village has television nowadays, only Aleksey Kozlov’s amateur radio station will tell you which one of your neighbors has a birthday or who had too much fun over the weekend and arrived late for work.

At first many villagers were not happy with the homegrown DJ and the sound of his loudspeakers.  But over the years, almost everyone has got used to the shows.

Even since the official radio network in Dmitrievskaya ran out of funds and was shut down, Kozlov’s broadcasts have become the only source of village news.

Dmitrievskaya is one of many villages in the Krasnodar Region that are famous for good grain crops.  The warm climate and the hard work of the locals contributes to the region’s success in agriculture.

Farmers are in the fields day and night during the harvest.  By the time the work is done, Aleksey Kozlov knows who has collected the most grain.  And the farmer with the best result gets a greeting and a song in the next show.