The matter is much simpler than Mr Richard Beeston wants everybody to believe. In reality it is nothing to do with The EVIL (in Mr Richard Beeston's mind) Kremlin.
It is very easy to resolve:
Boris Boyarskov, head of Russia's Federal Service for Mass Media Supervision, said the BBC's local partner should re-submit its licence application for approval, or the BBC itself should apply for its own frequency. So, BBC WAS OFFERED IT’S OWN FREQUENCY BEFORE this completely groundless article was written by Mr Beeston.
The first paragraph of the article provides enough grounds for the Russian Government to take the author to court.
Get a life Mr Richard Beeston. Stop being so twisted. Try to do something other than propagating hatred and suspicion towards Russia. Mr Putin is nowhere near as evil as you want him to be and there is MORE money in GOOD relationships with Russia. Putin never refuses to answer questions by the way:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5939

igor ivkin, London, UK

Britain repeatedly refuses Russian channels to broadcast in the UK. There is no even a single FM channel in London or anywhere in UK! I wonder what exactly UK government afraid of? Russia should stop the practise of awarding freebies to foreign stations, especially with low quality broadcasts like BBC with their biased propaganda, bordering on the racism against Russian people.

Ivanov, Moscow, Russia

I just have to reply to I Pinch's comment. Russians cannot simply listen to this radio service on the internet. Russia may not be as 'backward' as it was 20 years ago but still less than 5% of the population have access to the internet. I agree with the comments that BBC news contains a degree of propaganda but the issue surely is that media needs to be diverse in order to be democratic . By refusing access to a majority of Russian listeners is undemocratic in my view.

Sally, Portsmouth, UK

Well, goodness, one might say the BBC's socialist/Statist propaganda is more foreign to Britain than to Russia.

How much longer will British lawmakers force British TV owners to pay for their own indoctrination?

Michael Grable, Silver Spring, USA/Maryland

I dont think it matters if its the BBC , TF1 or CNN or what you think of an individual broadcaster. The important info in this article is in the last paragraph.

Neil McAlester, Hillsborough, N. Ireland

By the way, BBC is available in Russia on AM radio. So your information is not correct. So, would Britain open its radio waves to Radio Russia?

Oleg, Toronto, Canada

If they really want to listen they can tune in through online/internet radio stations. The Russian people are not destitute as they were even 20 years ago, they've stepped into the 21st century.

I Pinch, Hawaii, US

I totally agree with the Russians, for years the BBC has spewed out nothing but Nu Labour propaganda, If that isn't control of the media by the state then I dont' know what is.

Steve P, Leeds , England

What about this. The Russian Air Force is resuming long reage
air crafr with nuclar-capabilities flying over the worlds oceans
for the first time in fifeteen years.
Our pilots (US) made a interception before they reached
Guam.
I see the resumption of the cold war instigated by Russia
coming.

Jerry Scroggin, Phoenix, Arizona/USA

The only reason it is a shame is that the Russians will not be able to get an insight into the British psyche. My partner, family and friends are frequently outraged by the British media portrayal of Russia. News reports regarding Russia frequently use facts out of context and are based on popular opinion. As for the BBC my respect for it has gone down the drain. Especially, after the amateur like documentary and translation of an interview with Anna Politkovskaya. Their reporting on many subjects is so biased (possibly reflecting the governments position) that it is shameful and holes can be picked easily in their presentations. It is no great loss to Russians to be unable to listen to the BBC.

Erik, London,

Looks like nothing has changed with the old soviets. When will we learn that Russia is not a friend and ally but a threat to world peace and stability. Sorry, I forgot.....the world is too busy nit picking over America instead of watching the real threats like Russia and China.

viv, london, england

BBC bashing is favorite past-time for brittish people. But really, there is no better news outlet available in many parts of the world and even if BBC is sometimes weak when reporting, it still is quality product most of the time.

Andres, Estonia,

The Cold War is back in full swing. Notice that the article simply imputes the radio station's decision to stop broadcasting the BBC to "the Kremlin" without worrying about not having any evidence.

Propaganda articles like this no longer try to present facts, they just point out the designated enemy.

Richard Cheeseman, Wellington, New Zealand

Democracy, Russian style.

Asta Dzelzyte, London, UK

Hopefully such recidivism as described above will help put paid the misplaced nostalgia as expressed by a number of the 'chattering classes' in the various media.

N. Waters, Mississauga, Canada

Although the motive for caliing the BBC as a 'propoganda front' for the Govt. is questionable, the question should be rephrased.
As to the general impartiality of the BBC?..well it is like many institutions, developing it's own agenda for long-term survival.
Unforunately the agenda at present is to drive along a popular line of argument: The lowest common denominator.
The BBC was once regarded as the standard but has been tainted by commerical realities knocking at its door. How dissappointing!

kopite786, London, UK