Russia working on ‘objective and accurate’ alternative to Wikipedia

Two Russian libraries are working on an alternative to Wikipedia. According to the libraries, the current internet encyclopedia has too little ‘detailed and reliable information’ about the country and Russian culture.

The initiative comes from the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library and the Russian National Library. They say in a statement that they want to create an alternative to the American Wikipedia. “An analysis shows that there is too little detailed and reliable information about Russia and Russian culture on the site.”

The Russian internet encyclopedia contains documents about the country. There will also be a virtual museum showing regional development. To this end, the libraries work together with the Russian Library Association, an umbrella organization for Russian libraries. That would suggest at least five hundred regional encyclopedias for the alternative.

According to the Russians, the alternative offers a “valuable source of information” about life in their country and will therefore become one of the most popular Russian sources of information. “The integration of unique materials about the regions in one electronic encyclopedia provides an objective and accurate picture of the country and its inhabitants, the diversity of Russia and the national system. Posted articles will be continuously updated and renewed, and available to all Internet users worldwide.”

The initiative for a Wikipedia alternative seems to have sprung up all of a sudden. Nevertheless, the Russian authorities in particular have been at odds for some time with Western internet companies, such as Wikipedia. In July, parliament passed a law requiring internet companies to store data of Russian residents on servers in the country. A new law was also recently introduced that requires bloggers to register.