Allen Dulles formed the National Committee for a Free Europe in New York City during 1949. This front organization created Radio Free Europe to target Soviet satellite states.
Radio Liberty began broadcasting from Lampertheim on the 1st of March 1953, gaining substantial audience when covering Joseph Stalin's death four days later. The organization distributed over 300 million leaflets via balloons between October 1951 and November 1956.
Stasi files revealed the bombing was carried out by a group under Ilich Ramírez Sánchez known as Carlos the Jackal. Nicolae Ceaușescu paid for the attack against Romanian president orders while KGB Counterintelligence Department general Oleg Kalugin stated the operation was planned over two years.
RFE/RL moved its headquarters from Munich to Prague on the 1st of January 1995. On the 31st of January 1994, RFE/RL launched services to former Yugoslavia in Bosnian Croatian and Serbian languages.
Russia designated the website as a foreign agent on the 14th of May 2021 freezing bank accounts and initiating 520 cases. Total fines reached $2.4 million by May 2021 due to refusal to mark content with foreign agent labels.
DOGE imposed 30-day total freeze on funding intended to become permanent according to anonymous Politico source. United States Agency for Global Media terminated grants on the 15th of March 2025 following directive from Trump administration.