Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

Wikipedia may be partially restricted in Russia within the next one or two years over what officials describe as the “distortion of historical and other facts” in some of its articles, Azernews reports.

This was stated by Andrei Svintsov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies, and Communications, in an interview with the TASS news agency.

According to Svintsov, as the popularity of Russian digital platforms continues to grow, authorities will increasingly review foreign online resources that, in their view, deliberately misrepresent historical events or portray certain states inaccurately.

“It has already become clear that Wikipedia is perceived in Russia as a secondary source of information,” the lawmaker said. “Therefore, I believe that within the next year or two, the Russian government may consider imposing certain restrictions on the service, particularly regarding access to specific information.”

He added that potential measures could involve blocking individual pages related to Russian history, including the Tsarist, Soviet, and modern periods, rather than shutting down the entire platform.

Svintsov also emphasized that any action would be taken by Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media and internet regulator, and framed the move as an effort to “preserve historical justice.”

Observers note that such steps could further intensify the debate over information sovereignty and freedom of access online. Critics argue that restricting Wikipedia may limit access to global knowledge, while supporters believe it could accelerate the development of domestic alternatives, such as Russian-language encyclopedic platforms that align more closely with national narratives.

Russia is not alone in questioning Wikipedia’s content: similar concerns about bias and accuracy have been raised by officials in several other countries, highlighting the growing global tension between open-source knowledge platforms and state control over information.