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´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian has announced its plans for coverage of the UK General Election. In the weeks leading up to Election Day on Thursday 6 May, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian journalists will bring their audience comprehensive news and information about this important political event in the UK.

MPs representing the UK's three main political parties – Richard Spring, Conservative; Denis MacShane, Labour; and Michael Moore, Liberal-Democrat – will be answering questions put by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian audiences through the dedicated Ask British Politicians Your Question page, on bbcrussian.com. Interviews with the politicians based on the questions will run across the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian multimedia output on radio and online.

In addition, the bbcrussian.com website will feature background information on the election, including an introduction by the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Political Editor, Nick Robinson. Special content also will include an explanation of the term "hung parliament", which is a leading theme of the election, and the translation and explanation of key election terms. ´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian will also talk to ethnic Russians voting in the UK election – and report from the UK Embassy in Moscow where expatriate Britons will be voting on 6 May.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian's Andrei Beketov reports on the series of Britain's first-ever televised election debates, offering radio and online audiences analysis of the parties' positions on home affairs and immigration, foreign affairs and the economy.

Special editions of the flagship morning and evening news programmes, Utro na ´óÏó´«Ã½ and Vecher na ´óÏó´«Ã½, will feature Alexei Gromyko, Deputy Director of the Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Science, and the leading UK academic and expert on Russian and Soviet affairs, Geoffrey Hosking. They will look at how the election may impact on the relationship between Russia and the UK.

Head of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian, Sarah Gibson, says: "Our audience is interested in events in the UK, and how they affect the Russian-UK relationship at all levels – foreign policy, immigration, trade, cultural, education. The election on May 6 is a key moment in UK political life. We will be explaining why and how the election matters, not just to those in the UK, but to countries such as Russia and the wider region."

Notes to Editors

´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian is a multimedia broadcaster offering radio, online and mobile content to Russian-speaking audiences, with up-to-the-minute news, features and analysis.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian radio programmes are streamed online via bbcrussian.com and are broadcast on shortwave, on medium wave in Moscow (1260 MW), St Petersburg (1260 MW) and Yekaterinburg (666 MW). They are also available direct to home via the Hotbird 2 satellite.

The 24/7 website, bbcrussian.com, offers news and information in text, audio and video, while the latest headlines and video news bulletins are available for download on mobile phones via bbcrussian.com/mobile.

´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service is an international multimedia broadcaster delivering 32 language and regional services. It uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 188 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. Its news sites, which received 4.7 million weekly visitors in September 2009, include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate.

It has around 2,000 partner radio stations which take ´óÏó´«Ã½ content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices.

For more information, visit bbcworldservice.com.

For a weekly alert about ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service programmes, sign up for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Agenda e-guide at bbcworldservice.com/eguide.

´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service International Publicity