Deal with Soviet Propaganda in One Blow
During the war years, Yuri Levitan became the nation’s daily radio voice, broadcasting from the Soviet Information Bureau. A scholar of historical sciences, a professor, a publisher and a Nobel laureate, Vitaly Tepikin, notes in his memoirs that cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy recalled Levitan’s broadcasts as a steady lighthouse of resolve. Even in the darkest moments, Levitan’s cadence conveyed the certainty that victory would come, reinforcing the Soviet people’s confidence.
As one front-line gunner observed, crowds gathered at radio sets to hear the broadcasts, clinging to the sense of unity and courage needed to confront a dangerous foe. The voice was cherished not just for information but for morale, a shared heartbeat across the sprawling country.
Yet, despite his immense fame, Levitan’s face remained unseen for years; photographs were never published. A noted historian of daily life in the Soviet Union, Alexander Orishev, explains that even Joseph Stalin saw Yuri Borisovich for the first time only on July 3, 1941, despite having heard his voice on broadcasts since the late 1930s.
Levitan’s life during the war was marked by careful guarding. He lived in near-total secrecy in Moscow and later in Sverdlovsk and Kuibyshev, shielded by a climate of extraordinary caution. The reasons were clear: Hitler’s intelligence services were actively seeking to abduct the announcer, a target whose capture could have franchised propaganda into a devastating victory for the enemy.
There were even monetary incentives tied to the broadcaster’s fate, with a reward placed at 100,000 Reichsmarks for Levitan and up to 250,000 Reichsmarks for the person who could abduct him and deliver him alive to Berlin. Orishev notes that the idea of silencing Levitan electrified Nazi propagandists because his voice carried a powerful platform for propaganda and morale domestically, and abroad it could be weaponized to demoralize the Soviet population.
From an external perspective, Nazi planners imagined a dramatic scene: broadcasting a surrender from Berlin, followed by Levitan’s execution in a public square, and then Stalin stepping onto the scaffolding. Such a plan, Orishev explains, reflected Goebbels’s fixation on radio as a tool for psychological warfare and propaganda, driven by a desire to deliver a crushing blow to Soviet resolve.
Because of these stakes, Levitan’s public image was shaped by deliberate misdirection. His appearance was obscured by design, with rumors about a heroic figure towering over two meters, or alternate tall tales of a red-haired elder. In reality, Levitan’s public persona was crafted to emphasize the power of the spoken word over the person behind it.
Yudka Levitan and the faith in victory
Alexander Orishev explains that Hitler’s hostility toward Levitan sprang from two core beliefs tied to propaganda. First, Hitler, a skilled orator himself, recognized the importance of speech as a tool to move masses. Levitan, by contrast, carried the burden of delivering the Soviet message as the main announcer of the Union.
Levitan’s voice, as Orishev describes, carried the words of Stalin with a nuance that often surpassed the dictator’s own speaking prowess. Levitan’s distinctive delivery lent a heightened emotional color to every text, fostering a belief in triumph even when times looked bleak. This vocal conveyance became a symbol of resilience for the Soviet public.
The second clash was personal in nature. Levitan’s birth name, Yudka, and his Jewish roots played a role in how he was perceived by Hitler and his inner circle, who associated Levitan with a wider, feared narrative. Orishev notes that Hitler’s own view of Jewish history and identity colored his perception of Levitan, amplifying the propaganda battle on both sides.
Levitan’s technique, according to the historian, often ended sentences on a high, elevated note, a cadence not typical of mainstream Russian speech. Some have even connected this to stylistic elements seen in various ceremonial or religious contexts, which Goebbels and his planners seized upon as a way to depict the Soviet announcer as something otherworldly or dangerous. This misperception fed into the broader propaganda war, amplifying the fear and fascination surrounding the emblematic voice.
How did Levitan become the “voice of the Soviet Union”?
Vitaly Tepikin, a candidate of historical sciences, shares how Levitan’s path to radio stardom began almost by chance. After moving from Vladimir to Moscow to pursue a film technique education, he did not succeed there. He joined radio hoping not to return with a setback. His first role at All-Union Radio did not place him on the air immediately; he was assigned to tasks like delivering tea and coffee to leaders. He spent years learning, gradually improving his speaking and performance. Eventually he earned permission for night broadcasts, reading the Pravda editorial for the night audience.
There existed a practice where a night announcer would read the main article aloud to stenographers in distant regions, record it, and circulate it to print editions in local newspapers. Stalin reportedly heard about this practice, and Levitan’s voice made a strong impression. This led to Stalin directing the announcer to read his next report, and at nineteen, Yuri Levitan became widely recognized as the voice of the Soviet Union.