Wikimedia , the parent company behind Wikipedia , will have to pay Russia $ 36,000 for not removing an article about a Ukrainian military battalion .
A Russian court fined the Wikimedia Foundation , the nonprofit parent of the digital encyclopedia Wikipedia , 3 million rubles ($36,900) for its refusal to remove an article about the ultranationalist Ukrainian Azov battalion , declared a terrorist organization in Russia.
According to the documents of the case, the Russian communications regulator, Roscomnadzor, previously sent Wikipedia the corresponding request about the need to withdraw the information, which is considered prohibited in Russia .
9 times only in 2023
Wikimedia has been fined nine times in 2023 for publishing various articles about the actions of the Russian military in Ukraine.
Herewith, the total amount of fines imposed on Wikimedia amounts to 19.5 million rubles (over $239,700).
The Azov battalion was created in 2014 in the city of Mariupol, on the shores of the Azov sea, and was fully integrated into the National Guard of Ukraine since the end of that year.
It was founded by members of the far right to fight pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine and first gained fame for retaking Mariupol from Russian forces in June 2014.
However, they gained worldwide notoriety in the ongoing Russian military campaign in Ukraine for their resistance in critical conditions at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol until their complete surrender in May.
Almost 2,500 soldiers left Azovstal, many of whom are still prisoners of Russia