Alexei venediktov biography of barack

It survived for decades as one of Russia's leading independent voices, but when radio station Echo of Moscow shut down last month, long-time editor Alexei Venediktov knew it was the end of an era.

"The country has been thrown back in every sense, for me it's been set back 40 years," said Venediktov, who joined the station at its founding in 1990 and steered it through the 20 years of Vladimir Putin's rule, until the Russian president sent troops into Ukraine two months ago.

"We are now somewhere around 1983...

war is going on in Afghanistan, dissidents are in jail or kicked out of the country and Andropov is in the Kremlin," he said, referring to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, who like Putin served in the KGB.

With his mop of curly grey hair, 66-year-old Venediktov has been a top figure of Russia's media scene for years, leading the flagship of liberal broadcasters.

Echo of Moscow first took to the airwaves in August 1990, in t