Hello dear radio station!

We get email messages like this, all similarly worded, all asking for free promotional items or photos or stickers, etc.

Hello dear radio station!
I like listening to your transmission!
For many years I'm your fan, your transmission is very interesting!
I would like to know more about your radio station.
I'd like to get your photo with your autograph DJ.

And then an address in Russia.

The funny thing is we get several of these a week, to various email addresses at SomaFM, all from different addresses and cities in Russia.

Some are more demanding, asking for caps and t-shirts for them and their friends; or asking for CDs and other free giveaways.

By now, we've probably received over 100 letters like this. At first, it was fun thinking that we had fans all over Russia. But then I noticed that all the messages were generic and none of them actually referenced our programming. Some say things like "I love Black Metal music!"... obviously they don't actually listen to our station.

Is it some fad in Russia to have overseas radio promo items?