FILE PHOTO: Maksut Shadaev, Russia's Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Wikipedia, which says it offers"the second draft of history", is one of the few surviving independent sources of information in Russian since a state crackdown on online content in Russia intensified after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022. Wikimedia has previously said information that Russian authorities have complained about was well sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, said on Tuesday a court had ordered Google to pay 1 billion roubles for blocking the Duma TV YouTube channel.Google in Russia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.