Sci-Hub is the most controversial project in modern science.

The goal of Sci-Hub is to

provide free and unrestricted access to all scientific knowledge.

Sci-Hub started as a tool for providing quick access to articles from scientific journals -
such articles are the main medium of communication of scientific knowledge today. Now
Sci-Hub has grown a database of 88,343,822 research articles and books - freely
accessible for anyone to read and download.
Previously this knowledge was only available for high prices that most people cannot pay.
Sci-Hub has revolutionized science by making all paid knowledge free.
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Millions of people all over the world use Sci-Hub to unlock access to knowledge. They
come from all countries and not only the poorest ones. Many Sci-Hub users come from
USA and Europe. For more detailed stats, visit the statistics section.

Sci-Hub is extremely popular among scientists. Students use Sci-Hub for their research
projects and graduation theses that are available here.

Sci-Hub also helps journalists, startups, and everyone who loves to learn new things.
medicine

Many medical professionals rely on Sci-Hub, because a great chunk of scientific journals
are journals about medicine.

Sci-Hub helps to diagnose illnesses and prescribe therapy: free access to information saves
human lives. More information about medical usage of Sci-Hub is available here.
open access

Sci-Hub is a part of the Open Access Movement in science. The movement emerged in
1990s as a reaction to increasingly growing prices for academic journals: university
libraries could not afford journal subscriptions. Librarians and researchers argued for
making access to knowledge free or cheap.

High prices are unjustified and were made possible by monopoly-like mechanisms in
academic publishing. The most appalling fact: the authors of articles in academic journals
receive zero money for their work.

Sci-Hub became the most radical - and so far the most succesful - take on the open access.

legal fight

Sci-Hub has been hit by many lawsuits from academic publishing companies. They insist
that Sci-Hub is not legal and accuse Sci-Hub of copyright violation or piracy. As the result
of lawsuits access to Sci-Hub is being blocked in some countries.

The position of Sci-Hub is: the project is legal, while restricting access to information
and knowledge is not. The current operation of academic publishing industry is massive
violation of human rights.

To get more information about lawsuits against Sci-Hub and their current status visit
this section.