Rewriting history
The week's news at a glance.
Moscow
Russia announced the launch of a new, government-financed encyclopedia this week to replace the Great Soviet Encyclopedia that has anchored every Russian library for decades. The Soviet version was the official repository of communist propaganda, and was often subject to Orwellian rewritings. In 1953, for example, when secret-police chief Lavrenti Beria was executed, encyclopedia subscribers received a letter from the editor requesting that they cut out the Beria entry and replace it with an extended section on the Bering Strait. The new encyclopedia is intended to be less overtly political, but it will not be free of government spin. President Vladimir Putin has personally ordered members of the Russian Academy of Sciences to collaborate on the 30-volume reference tome. The first volume is due out next year.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Scottish hospitality shines at these 7 hotels
The Week Recommends Sleep well at these lovely inns across Scotland
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Scientists invent a solid carbon-negative building material
Under the radar Building CO2 into the buildings
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: April 1, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published