Channel 31 veteran honoured with gala concert

Sputnik Russian Cultural and Television Association will celebrate its 30th anniversary on television, and the life of co-founder Gregory Vaisman, with a free gala concert.

Now the longest running program on Channel 31, Sputnik Russian Cultural and Television Association has produced over 3000 weekly Russian-language Sputnik television programs over the last 30 years and organised 20 concerts, each of which attracted more than 500 people. Sputnik goes to air for 30 minutes, 5.30pm on Mondays and is repeated at 4pm on Fridays.

Anna Vaisman set up Sputnik in 1995 with her late husband Gregory. They arrived in Australia with one of their three children in 1991, part of a large group of Jews who left Ukraine in the dying days of the Soviet Union. After struggling to find work, they decided to set up Sputnik, a Russian language program on Channel 31, with a mission to educate the Russian-speaking community about life in Australia.

“It’s kept us busy – very busy – and we’ve been grateful for the opportunity. If we ever went away, we always pre-recorded the programs. It’s been one way of paying back Australia,” Anna Vaisman said.

“Sputnik”, meaning “fellow-traveller” or “spouse” in Russian was an obvious choice for the program.