Britain's relations with Russia are thudding along rock bottom. Each side accuses the other of double standards in refusing to extradite, respectively, a fugitive billionaire and an alleged polonium murderer. BP finds its “rights” are unenforceable in Russian courts. Russia invades Georgia, and David Miliband cries foul. The new British Ambassador to Moscow is doing her best to rebuild bridges, but she has her work cut out.

All the while, the BBC World Service's Russian service is reduced to broadcasting to most of the country on short wave and via the internet. It has medium-wave relay stations, but only in Moscow and St Petersburg. It had some FM partner stations, but they backed out when their airwaves began crackling with stories about Alexander Litvinenko's death two years ago.

Now the Russian service plans to cut broadcasts by 19 hours a week. Sixty-four distinguished experts have written to The Times in protest. They are right to do so. The Russian service should rethink.

It has its reasons for the cuts. Fewer and fewer Russians listen to short-wave radios. More and more get all their news via the web. Nigel Chapman, the World Service's Director, says the Russian service is simply rebalancing its output to reflect this new reality while ensuring that in-depth news programming does not suffer.

But the Russian service is more than a news service for Russians. It is cultural diplomacy, funded by the Foreign Office to improve Britain's currently woeful image from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. Bush House mandarins admit that some of the cultural programmes facing the axe had loyal followings. So keep them on the air.