The Kremlin is rewriting Wikipedia
A new version of history is taking shape
WIKIPEDIA had faced trouble from the Kremlin before, with Russian censors threatening it almost from the start of the Ukraine war in 2014. But it was only in late 2023, with the appearance of glitzy ads across Moscow, that a serious plan to replace it became clear. RuWiki, as the censors’ project is known, is mostly a straightforward copy of Wikipedia. But the most sensitive moments of history have been left out or rewritten. The Kremlin’s ideologues hope that millions of Russians will now embrace these new versions as the truth.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Ignorance is strength”
Europe July 13th 2024
From the July 13th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
Ukraine’s convicts take the fight inside Russia
A hard-bitten major commands a unit of felons—and dreams of kebabs in Moscow
Anti-war parties are set to clean up in eastern German elections
Scepticism about support for Ukraine runs deep in parts of the former communist republic
How a Spanish province became the world’s truffle leader
Teruel has replaced France’s Périgord atop the tuber charts
The great cover-up: Europe is losing its penchant for public nudity
A columnist bares all in pursuit of the naked truth
What next after Ukraine’s shock invasion of Russia?
It could dig in, pull back or grab more as a bargaining chip
Ukraine’s shock raid deep inside Russia rages on
The surprise attack comes as Ukraine is under pressure in the Donbas