At the sidelines of a major data forum in Russia, the Digital Development Minister announced that there are no current plans to block Wikipedia within the country. He pointed to ongoing developments around a Russian information portal designed to serve as a domestic alternative to the online encyclopedia.
The minister emphasized that the project is still in progress and not yet ready to disclose specifics about its scope or timetable. For now, there is no intention to restrict access to Wikipedia, and no immediate plans to shut it down were announced.
Meanwhile, Valery Fadeev, a former head of Russia’s Human Rights Council, commented on the online encyclopedia’s content. While acknowledging that Wikipedia can reflect historical and political distortions, he argued for creating an alternative that provides verified information. Fadeev noted that his position is not a call for rapid closure but for action to address how politicized the platform has become.
Earlier, Dmitry Peskov, the presidential press secretary, suggested that Russia should develop its own Wikipedia-like resource with checked facts before considering any potential restrictions on the current site. This stance aligns with a broader plan to strengthen domestic information channels while evaluating the role of global platforms in the national information space.