3 unsolved mysteries in the case of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov – POLITICO

Although Durov portrays himself as an opponent of the Kremlin, the reality seems more complicated. Even after he left Russia and sold his stake in VKontakte, there were rumors that Durov maintained ties with the country. Alisher Usmanov, an oligarch close to Putin, reportedly helped fund Telegram in its early stages. Telegram also initially operated from the same Singer House office in St. Petersburg as VKontakte.

Durov's brother Nikolai, who is also wanted by France, is said to live in St. Petersburg, where he works at the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the prestigious Russian Academy of Sciences, according to pro-Kremlin media. Nikolai Durov is listed as an employee on the institution's website.

Although Nikolai's contribution to Telegram's success is widely known, he has always stayed out of the spotlight, leaving that role to his younger brother. According to Telegram, Pavel supports the app “financially and ideologically, while Nikolai's contribution is technological.”

According to a report by Important Stories based on a leak of Russian intelligence data, Durov visited Russia “more than 50 times” between 2015 and 2021. Telegram is widely used by the Russian military for battlefield communications, by pro-war military bloggers and journalists, and by millions of ordinary Russians and politicians.

Telegram has a mixed reputation in Russian opposition circles. On the one hand, it offers secure communications, protected from the prying eyes of the FSB, and an alternative platform for independent media blocked online by the Russian authorities. On the other hand, there have been a number of incidents where channels or initiatives that could cause problems for the Kremlin have been blocked or otherwise hampered by the platform.

The Ukrainian military largely uses the Signal platform for its communications, but most government agencies also have Telegram channels and the app is also widely used by Ukrainian soldiers and civilians for personal messages and blogs.