Russia creating its own Wikipedia analogue

Vladimir Putin’s Presidential Library is creating a Russian version of Wikipedia with officially sanctioned information to rival the “unreliable” American site.

Authorities optimistically expect it to become “one of the most popular Russian internet resources” but it will have a way to go to catch up with Wikipedia, the sixth most popular website in the world, reports The Independent.

The new encyclopedia is being created by the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library, established by Putin in 2007, and the National Library of Russia.

Announcing the move on Friday, a spokesperson for the Presidential Library said: “The initiative will be an alternative of Wikipedia: the analysis of this resource has shown that it does not have enough detailed and reliable information about Russian regions and the life of the country.”

He added: “Integration of unique materials on the regions in a single electronic encyclopedia will allow it to objectively and accurately present the country and its population, the diversity of the state, the national system of Russia.” 

Read more at Independent.co.uk.