01.12.2024

How to read “Wikipedia” in case of its possible blocking

You can try a VPN, but to be safe, it's better to download the entire archive of the site's articles so that you can access them even offline.

How to read Wikipedia in the event of its possible blocking

On March 1, Roskomnadzor notified the Russian-language Wikipedia about a possible blocking due to the article “Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022)”. If access to the resource is really limited, then you should prepare for this in advance.

One of the easiest ways to bypass blocking is to use a VPN. There are many convenient free services and paid analogues with favorable rates, but you can also set up your own VPN server.

If you do not want to depend on the stability of the Internet connection, then you can download Wikipedia for offline access. This will require the Kiwix app. It is available for free on all major platforms, including Windows, macOS, and mobile OS.

How to read

When downloading the Windows version of the program, you will receive an archive that you need to unpack, and then run the kiwix-desktop.exe file in it – installation is not required.

In essence, Kiwix is ​​an offline browser, so then you need to download the archives necessary web resources – for this, there is a special section of libraries on the Kiwix website, which also has Wikipedia. It is available in three versions: 4.43 GB, 14.97 GB and 30.42 GB. To access full articles, not abstracts, you need to download at least the second one – click Download and then Direct.

How to read Wikipedia

The archive will be downloaded to the PC in ZIM format. To open it, in Kiwix, click on the folder icon in the upper right corner and select the downloaded file.

How to read

Opens main article with all sections. In the search bar at the top, you can type queries – words, concepts and events that you want to find offline Wikipedia.

We also note that Wikipedia itself also has a page with instructions for bypassing the block. And if the resource is blocked, then you can open a copy of this page on other sites:

  • on the Internet Archive;
  • on Archive.is;
  • on Wikipedia.org. (with a dot after the domain name).