Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov piled the pressure on, telling reporters Tuesday that authorities had recorded “a large number of violations” and Telegram’s “unwillingness … to cooperate.”
The probe marks the latest chapter in Moscow’s decade-long battle with Durov. Russia attempted to block Telegram in 2018 after the company refused to hand over encryption keys — a ban that ultimately failed. Authorities have since intermittently throttled the service while also targeting other foreign platforms, including WhatsApp.
Durov, who left Russia in 2014, has repeatedly framed the pressure as politically motivated. Earlier in February, he warned Moscow was trying to push users toward a state-controlled messaging app “built for surveillance and political censorship,” adding: “Telegram stands for freedom of speech and privacy, no matter the pressure.”
The tech entrepreneur, however, has been in trouble outside Russia over the platform. In 2024, he was arrested in France and temporarily banned from leaving the country after being charged with several organized crime offenses. Prosecutors claimed he refused to cooperate with authorities’ attempts to combat illegal content, including child pornography, on Telegram. Durov denied any wrongdoing.
Telegram, which launched in 2013, has become a central information hub inside Russia and across the Ukraine war zone, used by officials and opposition figures — as well as Ukrainian leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The platform says it now has roughly 1 billion active users worldwide.
Telegram did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment by the time of this article’s publication.