Knowledge, Ideology, and Encyclopedias in Contemporary Russia

• In Event: Instruments and Influences of Russian Propaganda II: Text as a Weapon

Abstract

This talk will consider the role of encyclopedias in the development of the contemporary Russian ideological system. In the Soviet Union, the Great Soviet Encyclopedia played a central role in formulating and propagandizing a new, distinctively Soviet system of knowledge to the masses. Its publisher still exists, and after failing to produce a new Great Russian Encyclopedia in the 1990s, it succeeded in developing one in the 2000s-2010s. Today, it is working on a highly touted online encyclopedia portal. Wikipedia is seen as a particular problem in Russia. It has been frequently criticized by Russia’ top leaders, and many of its articles have been declared to be illegal material. Today, no fewer than four separate projects are aiming to develop a replacement for it. The Great Russian Encyclopedia is attempting to implement an updated version of the Soviet model, relying on experts to write articles and on ties with important knowledge institutions. Others, like Ruwiki, aim to adapt the wiki model to the new ideological climate. When viewed as part of the constellation of efforts by the Russian state to promote a particular worldview, encyclopedias seem poised to regain the central role that they held in the Soviet period.

Author

• Michael James Coates, Independent Scholar