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
Discover more
A harrowing rape trial in France has revived debate about consent
Anything less than yes is no
How the wolf went from folktale villain to culture-war scapegoat
The startling return of wolves in Europe raises hackles
The Netherlands’ new hard-right government is a mess
Conflicts over asylum, farms and the constitution could bring it down
Ukraine’s Roma have suffered worse than most in the war
Half of them may have fled
Pedro Sánchez clings to office at a cost to Spain’s democracy
His opponents accuse him of subverting the constitution
Why the hard-right Herbert Kickl is unlikely to be Austria’s next chancellor
In spite of his strong win