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 editionDiscover more
How older French women are redefining the aesthetics of ageing
Wrinkles could once wreck a public career in France. Not any more
Italy’s oddest political party is splitting
Six years ago it was Italy’s biggest
Elon Musk threatens to deepen the rift between Europe and America
Musk is from Mars, Europe is from Venus
The war in Ukraine has rattled both sides of Cyprus
Russians and Ukrainians have both used the island as a banking haven: not so easy now
The sun begins to set on Olaf Scholz’s chancellorship
The contours of Germany’s coming election campaign are coming into view
Volodymyr Zelensky faces a power struggle in 2025
As morale ebbs in Ukraine there is talk of a change at the top