There are more questions than answers when it comes to Russia's mysterious 'Doomsday Radio', which has been spouting noise (and the occasional bit of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake") since the mid-1970s. Starting with a series of beeps when the world first started monitoring the signal in 1982, it then got its name as 'The Buzzer' when it switched to buzzing intervals in 1992. But what's the real story, and what do we know about the Doomsday Radio?
What's the history of the Doomsday Radio?
The official name for the Doomsday Radio is UVB-76, with Popular Mechanics saying it's likely been transmitting since the mid-1970s as a leftover from the Cold War. Tuning in to 4625 kHz and you'll typically be greeted by a monotonous buzzing tone that's repeated approximately 25 times per minute, 24 hours a day.
Advert
There have been a couple of unusual instances, like when the signal went quiet for a single day in 2010 and then started up like nothing had happened.
You'll occasionally hear voices, such as a conversation being overheard in Russian back in 2001. The short broadcast simply said: "I am 143. Not receiving the generator [oscillator]... that stuff comes from hardware room."
May 2020 had a conversation broadcast in French, while pirates have also been known to hijack the signal. Away from a May 2024 incident where pirates asked if they could tell operators a joke, they've been known to play meme-centric songs like "Gangnam Style."
It also appears that the Doomsday Radio changes purpose during times of political unrest or intrigue.
Advert
When Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump were talking on the phone in May 2025, two messages were transmitted, saying "NZhTI 89905 BLEFOPUF 4097 5573," which was then joined by "NZhTI 01263 BOLTANKA 4430 9529" a few hours later.
What do the experts think about the Doomsday Radio?
Even though there's no concrete answer to UVB-76's purpose, there's a popular theory that it's linked to the 'Dead Hand' doomsday device monitoring nuclear attacks. Some of the more outlandish guesses are that it could be ionosphere research, linked to Chernobyl, a Russian submarine communication system, or even an international spy network.
Advert
Freelance radio monitor Ary Boender runs the Numbers Oddities site and has her own theories: "Some say that it is an old Soviet Dead Man's Switch that triggers a nuclear attack on the West when it stops buzzing.
"Others say that it is a homing beacon for UFOs, or a mind control device with which the Russians can program your mind."
Speaking to Popular Mechanics, David Stupples, an expert in the research and development of space-based reconnaissance, surveillance, and navigation systems, gave us a warning: "I think to find the whole truth—and nothing but the truth—I think it would have to come from the Russian Federation themselves.
"It is almost certainly the Russian government that is using it. If it is the Russian government, it wouldn’t be for peaceful purposes."
Advert
As well as suggesting it's being kept as an emergency broadcast channel in case communications are knocked out, Stupples added that Russia could simply be reserving the channel for defense purposes.
The signal is thought to have originally come from a military base near the town of Povarovo, but when explorers went there around a year after the signal became harder to track, it was abandoned aside from a single guard dog. Locals maintained that the Russian military had fled in the middle of the night, taking less than 90 minutes to get out. Much like Stupple will likely never know, what hope do the rest of us have?