REFILE-Russia to upgrade homegrown encyclopaedia after Putin pans Wikipedia
- Country:
- Russian Federation
Russia is to set up a new online site for its national encyclopedia after President Vladimir Putin said Wikipedia was unreliable and should be replaced.
The move will ensure people can find "reliable information that is constantly updated on the basis of scientifically verified sources of knowledge," a government resolution said. Putin last month proposed replacing the crowd-sourced online encyclopedia Wikipedia with an electronic version of the Great Russian Encyclopaedia - the successor to the Soviet Union's main encyclopedia.
"This, at any rate, would be reliable information offered in a modern form," Putin said then. In 2015, Russia briefly blocked the Russian-language version of Wikipedia for an article containing information on cannabis under legislation banning sites with drug-related material.
Moscow has also introduced tougher online controls over the Russian segment of the internet so that it can keep on functioning even if cut off from foreign infrastructure. The Great Russian Encyclopaedia is already available in a basic electronic format.
The new online portal will cost about 2 billion roubles ($31 million), Sergei Kravets, an editor for the Great Russian Encyclopaedia was quoted as saying on Nov. 21 by TASS news agency. The government will also set up a national research and education center for the Great Russian Encyclopaedia, the resolution, signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, said.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
- READ MORE ON:
- Vladimir Putin
- Russia
- Moscow
- Dmitry Medvedev
- Russian
- Soviet Union
ALSO READ
Water level in Ural river in Russia's Orenburg rises 50 cm, news agencies report
Homes flooded after Ural River rises quickly in Russia's Orenburg
China's Xi meets with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to bolster strategic partnership against Western pressure
Ukraine says it destroyed 14 of 17 drones launched by Russia
Floods swamp scores of settlements in Russia and Kazakhstan