Abstract
The prominent role played by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL, or the Radios from hereon) in weaving together the cultural and political fabric of the Cold War is well-known. However, better understanding of how the Radios managed this involvement – through the curation of their perception in the United States and within the countries which they broadcast – is significant for understanding how exactly the Radios were impacted by and went on to impact Cold War East-West relations. Within the US, RFE/RL's fraught relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) changed the Radios' trajectory and presented various challenges regarding its governmental and public interfaces. Outside the United States, the Radios' continual attempts to meet the needs and desires of listeners kept the stations a trusted and relevant source of information and communication. This chapter presents an overview of how RFE/RL sought to control these (sometimes dueling) realities and attempted to strengthen its reputation over the course of the conflict. It presents a discussion of how the Radios evolved as a quasi-governmental entity from the 1940s to the 1990s and takes a closer look at its relationship with the Baltic States, demonstrating how RFE/RL found itself at the heart of the United States' involvement in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.