Russia launches terror probe into Telegram chief Pavel Durov

Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into Telegram founder Pavel Durov over allegations his messaging platform facilitated terrorist activity, sharply escalating the Kremlin’s long-running standoff with the tech billionaire.

State-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Kremlin-friendly tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda reported Tuesday that investigators are examining whether Telegram was used to coordinate attacks, including the 2024 Crocus City Hall massacre, as well as the killings of Darya Dugina — daughter of nationalist ideologue Aleksandr Dugin — and General Igor Kirillov.

Both outlets, citing Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), claimed Telegram has been used in more than 153,000 crimes since 2022, including roughly 33,000 cases involving sabotage, terrorism or extremism. The reports also accused Durov of ignoring more than 150,000 takedown requests from Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor.

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.

Responding to the news with a post on X, Durov said, “Each day, the authorities fabricate new pretexts to restrict Russians’ access to Telegram as they seek to suppress the right to privacy and free speech. A sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people.”

This article has been updated.