The Russian Wikimedia chapter has nominated the popular torrent tracker RuTracker and Sci-Hub founder Alexandra Elbakyan for their annual "Free Knowledge" award. Both sites are praised for their efforts to freely distribute media and scientific publications, although opponents call them out as piracy havens.

For the third year in a row the official Russian Wikimedia chapter is awarding a prize to a person or organization that made ​​a notable contribution in line with the goals of the Wikimedia movement.

Earlier this month Wikimedia announced the nominations for the Wiki “Free Knowledge” award, which includes Russia’s largest torrent tracker RuTracker as well as Sci-Hub founder Alexandra Elbakyan.

Elbakyan made headlines around the world after she was sued by Elsevier, one of the largest academic publishers. Through Sci-Hub she offer millions of academic articles, which are usually behind a paywall, free of charge.

“Everyone should have access to knowledge regardless of their income or affiliation. And that’s absolutely legal. The idea that knowledge can be a private property of some commercial company sounds absolutely weird to me,” she told us last year.

Sci-Hub



This deviant stance is supported by many scientists who are calling for more open access to research findings, and this also got her a nomination for Wikimedia Russia’s Free Knowledge award.

“For many Russian scientists this project is in fact the only opportunity to quickly familiarize themselves with scientific articles, especially given the economic events of the last couple of years,” one commenter noted during the nomination process.

In total there are nine nominees, including a Russian State Library project, the Russian Ministry of Defense and the hugely popular torrent site RuTracker.

In recent months RuTracker has pushed back hard against legal pressure from various sides and various censorship efforts. According to some Wikimedia members, the site deserves to be awarded for its role in freely spreading Russian culture.

“I know hundreds of writers who through RuTracker distribute their own works: musicians, directors, writers, scientists, teachers, photographers and others,” a commenter noted during the nomination process, applauding the site’s free knowledge approach.

Not everyone agrees with the nomination of RuTracker though. Another member highlighted the numerous copyright violations which run contrary to the ideas of the Wikimedia Foundation, calling the nomination “unacceptable and absurd.”

The members of the Russian Wikimedia chapter will now weigh the pros and cons for each of the nominees. The winner will be announced next month during the award ceremony.