Russian ‘Number Stations’ Code Changes After 20 Years

A Russian number station has changed its broadcast code after 20 years. The station is similar to the one seen on the TV show LOST, with the repeating French woman’s message, but this station is located in a less desirable location. The station is located outside Povarovo, Russia and has been broadcasting the same annoying buzz tone for just over 20 years; until now.

Recently a voice was heard transmitting the following code,

UVB-76, UVB-76 – 93 882 naimina 74 14 35 74 – 9 3 8 8 2 nikolai, anna, ivan, michail, ivan, nikolai, anna, 7, 4, 1, 4, 3, 5, 7, 4

These number stations true purpose have never been known and many rumor them as a means to transmit operations to spies, however unlikely that may be it still has been driving experts nuts for decades. Typically this station broadcasts a buzzing tone 24 hours a day 7 days a week with only about 5 known voice broadcasts in Russian; further increasing spy rumors. This year has been the most odd as listeners have reported several anomalies including the station being completely offline for several days.

Several number stations have been confirmed by groups as methods of disseminating coded messages to spies however no government has ever confirmed their existence or purpose. The fact that this one has been around since the heat of the “cold” war certainly makes you wonder if it was for the KGB. The question is why change the code now? Does it mean that a spy operation is underway or that one has successfully been completed? Or is it just a test of the airwaves capability?

Another Russian voice, believed to be interference, was broadcast on September 12, 2001 however the translation was hard to pick up due to its muffled nature but it is odd that a voice transmission came right after 9/11. There is a possibility that the Russian Government is essentially doing it for fun just to keep other spy agencies on their toes as providing false information is a Russian trait. So is it a spy tool or just an annoying waste of airwaves?

Information Via: Gizmodo