When I read on Friday that the BBC was being knocked off the FM airwaves in Russia, I was puzzled. What was it about the British broadcaster's work that had caused its Russian distributor to deem it "foreign propaganda"?

OK, I'll concede that I may not be the most impartial person to render such a judgment. I love the Beeb. When I moved to Belgium, I walked my radio around the apartment until I found the spot that got the clearest BBC reception. That became my breakfast nook. And, of course, I've spent some time in big journalism, so I have a fair idea of how hard BBC reporters work to get the story right.

The BBC's Web site has an entire section devoted to Russia, under the heading "Resurgent Russia". As special section headlines go, that's pretty neutral. And it is pretty accurate: Russia is making a comeback in economic and political terms that is being felt all over the world. A professor of Slavic studies that I was interviewing for another project told me she expects to see an uptick in the number of students enrolled in Russian studies as a result of the changes in Russia.

But there are stories on the BBC's Web site that the Kremlin and its supporters probably wouldn't have posted if they had been in charge. Like a piece on a free speech rally in Nizhny Novgorod. Or this piece on the maternity incentives law that Russia implemented last December.

The BBC posted this story in February, and I apologize for not bringing it to your attention sooner. The story relays the basic facts of the law in a very straightforward fashion. But it also interviews a young woman who qualifies for its benefits--but isn't sure it is the right kind of help. "I feel the authorities live in a totally different world and don't understand how difficult it is to raise children on the little money we are provided," she tells the reporter. Not the party line, as they say.

In the end, I'm not sure that taking the BBC off the air will have much of an effect. Its news is still available on the Web, in Russian, even if Russia isn't as wired for the Internet as the U.S.