Access Restored to Wikipedia in Russia After Overnight Outage
The tech platform Habr reported that Wikipedia was inaccessible in Russia for eight hours.
Wikipedia experienced a widespread outage across Russia on Friday morning, with users reporting difficulties accessing the online encyclopedia shortly after midnight Moscow time. Monitoring services Sboy and Downdetector recorded a surge in outage reports, particularly in major cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Novosibirsk.
Independent testing data from OONI Explorer indicated that access anomalies for Wikipedia’s Russian-language version reached 100%, while the English-language version saw anomalies at 75%. Access to Wikipedia in Russia was restored by 10 a.m. Moscow time, marking a significant reduction in disruption rates.
The tech platform Habr confirmed that Wikipedia was inaccessible in Russia for approximately eight hours. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s communications watchdog, has not officially commented on the outage, though the agency has previously fined Wikipedia multiple times for refusing to remove articles related to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian officials have long advocated for a domestic alternative to Wikipedia to address what they perceive as Western bias in the content.
These efforts have thus far been unsuccessful. Fears of potential internet censorship in Russia have intensified amid a continuing wartime crackdown on dissent. The closure of Wikipedia’s Russian operator, the Wikimedia Foundation’s Russian division, has raised concerns among users and observers. Meanwhile, The Moscow Times, a Russian news outlet, has faced its own challenges.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has designated the newspaper as an "undesirable" organization, which could lead to criminal prosecution for its staff. This follows a previous label as a "foreign agent," both of which are seen as direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The newspaper’s journalists assert their commitment to providing accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia and emphasize their refusal to be silenced despite these legal hurdles.
They plead for support, encouraging readers to contribute any amount, even as little as $2 per month, to aid in the ongoing battle for open, independent journalism in the face of repression.
Written by urgent.news from The Moscow Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
