Many Tashkent residents are familiar with the two tall lattice towers located not far from Fargona Yuli Street, in the area of the former so-called Shumilov Town. They are clearly visible if you are near the "Dustlik" metro station, and on clear days—even from the city center. 

This is the so-called spark radio station. The site for its construction was chosen not far from the railway station, outside the city limits, and covered about 60 hectares. Construction of the station began in 1913, and the first message was transmitted in April 1915—it informed about the departure of a train from Moscow to Tashkent. 

World War I was underway, and Russia was building a radio communication system on its territory and nearby. Similar stations were built in Moscow, Baku, Bobruisk, and the Far East—a total of six stationary radio stations. The Tashkent station was one of the largest. It was powered by accumulator batteries and two diesel generators, each with a capacity of 160 kW. 

The antenna consisted of a dense network of wires suspended on six 90-meter metal masts, designed and built by the German firm "Siemens-Halske." From May 1918 to April 1920, the Turkestan region was cut off from central Russia, and during this time, the Tashkent radio station was the only communication channel with other regions of the former empire. 

The main drawback of spark stations was that the signal from the spark discharge spread across the entire frequency spectrum. A few years later, radio stations tunable to the desired frequency appeared, and the need for spark transmitters disappeared. The towers were still used for antennas, but after the construction of a radio station in the Solnechny settlement and the commissioning of the TV tower in 1956, they lost their practical significance. 

Such is the unusual and somewhat sad history of Tashkent's first radio station. The next time you see these towers, remember their century-old history, which organically complements the history of our amazing capital.