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Last week, the same Moscow court issued a fine of 800,000 roubles to the Wikimedia Foundation for not removing materials linked to a song by a Russian rock band called Psychea, which Russian authorities consider to be extremist.

In November 2022, the organisation was fined 2 million roubles for refusing to delete information in seven Wikipedia articles about the “special military operation”, including information about atrocities in Bucha and the destruction of Mariupol’s theatre.

In a statement on Thursday, Wikimedia’s senior legal manager, Leighanna Mixter, said the organisation had not taken down the disputed content and would continue to challenge the rulings as without foundation.

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She said “the steady stream of take-down orders” Wikimedia had received in recent months challenged information that was “well-sourced and in line with applicable Wikipedia policies – improved by Wikipedia volunteer editors with more citations and up-to-date information”.

Wikimedia has two active appeals for fines related to take-down notices for topics regarding the invasion of Ukraine – and the latest case “does not present any new legal issues,” she said.

“These orders are part of an ongoing effort by the Russian government to limit the spread of reliable, well-sourced information in the country,” she added, asserting that Wikimedia would resist all attempts to “try to curb free knowledge”.

A Wikipedia page on the issue notes, “Since the early 2010s, Russian Wikipedia and its editors have experienced numerous and increasing threats of nationwide blocks and country-wide enforcement of blacklisting by the Russian government, as well as several attempts to censor pages, spread propaganda, and disinform.”