Technology & Science
Russia Opens Criminal Case Against Telegram Founder Pavel Durov for 'Aiding Terrorism'
On 24 Feb 2026, Russia’s FSB formally launched a criminal probe into Pavel Durov, accusing the Telegram CEO of abetting terrorist activity and triggering throttling measures meant to push 100-million Russian users toward the state-run messenger Max.
Focusing Facts
- State papers Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Komsomolskaya Pravda cited FSB data alleging Telegram was used in 153,000 crimes since 2022, including 33,000 sabotage-or-terror incidents and 13 plots to kill senior Russian officers.
- Roskomnadzor says it sent Telegram over 150,000 takedown requests and, after non-compliance, began slowing traffic nationwide in early Feb 2026 while warning of a possible extremist designation within a month.
- Durov, living in Dubai and already under a separate 2024 French indictment, responded on his channel that the case is “a pretext to force citizens onto a surveillance app,” echoing his 2018 standoff when Moscow’s failed ban lasted 2018-2020.
Context
States have periodically seized control of new communications media—Tsar Alexander II nationalised Russia’s telegraph network in 1866; the U.S. forced AT&T’s 1918 wartime takeover; China built its Great Firewall in the 2000s. Moscow’s 2026 move fits that long arc of governments pursuing ‘sovereign networks’ whenever outside channels threaten political monopoly, especially during conflict (Russia-Ukraine war). Unlike the failed 2018 Telegram ban, today the Kremlin couples criminal charges, bandwidth throttling and a domestic substitute (Max), mirroring China’s WeChat strategy and Iran’s 2023 crackdown on Signal. Over a 100-year horizon, this episode signals accelerating balkanisation of the internet: encryption is colliding with security states, private platforms with digital sovereignty. Whether consumers accept Max or continue cat-and-mouse circumvention will shape not just Russian information space but the precedent for how future states may criminalise platform founders to domesticate global networks.
Perspectives
Russian state-aligned and sympathetic outlets
e.g., Anadolu Ajansı, Tehran Times — Frame the probe as a warranted national-security response, repeating FSB figures that Telegram enabled tens of thousands of terrorist or extremist crimes and ignored more than 150,000 takedown requests. By uncritically echoing Kremlin talking points and statistics sourced from security services, they legitimize Moscow’s pressure campaign and gloss over the investigation’s political utility in steering users to the state-run Max app.
Western mainstream media
e.g., Washington Post, POLITICO, Reuters — Portray the investigation as the Kremlin’s latest attempt to throttle an independent communication tool, highlighting Russia’s broader internet crackdown and Durov’s past clashes with authoritarian demands. Their civil-liberties framing can underplay the scale of criminal content on Telegram and fits a consistent narrative of Russian repression that appeals to Western audiences and policymakers.
Digital-rights/tech-centric outlets and Durov’s own channel amplifiers
e.g., APA, PravdaReport, Cryptopolitan — Depict Durov as a privacy champion persecuted by a state afraid of free speech, stressing that authorities ‘invent new pretexts’ to curb Telegram and push users toward surveillance-friendly alternatives. Their libertarian tech ethos and dependence on Telegram’s popularity incline them to echo Durov’s statements while skimming over documented moderation failures and the platform’s exploitation by criminals.
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