In yet another move to keep its population blind to what goes on and history, Russia has introduced its own version of Wikipedia, a state-backed encyclopedia named “Ruviki“. This new platform is essentially a clone of the original Wikipedia, but with a significant twist: content has been meticulously edited to align with the interests of the Russian government, omitting information that might portray the regime in a negative light.
The initiative was first brought to light by Novaya Gazeta, a Russian news outlet that has since relocated to Latvia following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The news was also echoed by Signpost, a publication known for its coverage of Wikimedia-related topics.
One of the most notable changes in Ruviki is the absence of references to individuals and entities labeled as “foreign agents” by the Russian government. This classification typically applies to those who express opinions about the government and are perceived to be influenced by foreign entities, financially or otherwise. Prominent figures like Alexei Navalny, the outspoken opposition leader who passed away in prison in February, and the organization Memorial, which focused on the memory of Soviet terror victims and was dissolved in 2022, are examples of entities that have been heavily censored in the new encyclopedia.
Navalny‘s article in Ruviki describes him as a “video blogger” with a history of “extremist activities or terrorism,”. Widespread belief, including from his wife Yulia Navalnaya, is that he was in fact killed.
The Russian-language chapter of Wikimedia, known as Wikimedia RU, responsible for Wikipedia’s operations in the country, faced significant pressure and was compelled to close its doors in late 2023 due to the conflict in Ukraine. Vladimir Medeyko, the former head of Wikimedia RU and now the driving force behind Ruviki, previously expressed concerns about Wikipedia’s reliability and neutrality in an interview to Novaya Gazeta Europe.
Censorship
Medeyko unveiled the project to overhaul Wikipedia’s Russian content in June, aiming to create a “trustworthy” information source for Russian speakers. However, reports from independent news outlets like Bumaga have highlighted the extent of the censorship, with around 110 articles related to the conflict in Ukraine either missing or heavily edited. To no one’s surprise.
Graphic designer Constantine Konovalov meticulously compared the character counts in articles on similar subjects across Wikipedia RU and Ruviki, documenting a staggering 205,000 alterations in pieces about freedom of speech, 158,000 in discussions of human rights, 96,000 in sections about political prisoners, and 71,000 in texts regarding censorship in Russia. In a revealing post on X, he characterized the extent of the censorship as being reminiscent of the fictional world depicted in George Orwell’s “1984,” where the manipulation of information was a central theme.
The change in tone and perspective is particularly evident in the article about the “Russian Invasion of Ukraine,” which in Ruviki becomes “Military Actions in Ukraine (in 2022),” presenting the conflict from the Russian government’s viewpoint.
Medeyko’s reputation within the Wikimedia community has been contentious, with allegations from Yaroslav Blanter, a Wikipedia arbitration committee member, suggesting that Medeyko used Wikipedia for personal gain. Blanter criticized Medeyko’s advocacy for what he perceived as his own paid editing friends.
The creation of Ruviki underscores the ongoing tension between the Russian government and independent information sources, and it remains to be seen how the Russian population will interact with this new, government-approved encyclopedia.
