Wikipedia avoided being blocked in Russia by media watchdog Roskomnadzor after changing the URL of an article that had been determined unlawful by a court, the TJournal news website reported Saturday.
In late June a court in the Astrakhan region determined that a Wikipedia article about a drug named charas violated the law because it contained information on how to prepare it.
Last Tuesday Roskomnadzor warned Wikipedia that the website would be blocked in Russia unless the article was removed.
Stanislav Kozlovsky, executive director of Wikimedia RU, a non-commercial organization that runs Wikipedia in Russia, refused to remove the article, claiming it was based on information published on the official website of the United Nations. Four days later the article was given a new URL, as the court's decision only concerned the article's original URL.
