Durov on Russia's Terror List: Russia Warns Against Telegram

Background: The Rift Between Moscow and Telegram

Durov, who lives in Dubai and also holds French citizenship, has not publicly commented on the new allegations. In recent months, Russian authorities had repeatedly put pressure on the messenger service, most recently with allegations, among other things, that Telegram had cooperated with law enforcement agencies following politically motivated arrests.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Telegram had positioned itself as a largely uncensored means of communication and was used for military communications by both the Russian and Ukrainian sides, particularly in the early phase of the war. At the same time, the company repeatedly came under criticism because alleged calls for violence and sabotage, as well as leaked data about Russian armed forces, were distributed via the platform.

The tensions are rooted in a longer-running dispute between Moscow and Telegram. Back in 2018, the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB had attempted to block the messenger after the company refused to hand over encryption keys for user communications to the authorities. At the time, Telegram had circumvented the block by technical means and remained accessible via VPN services; the block was officially lifted in 2020 following legal proceedings.

From the 2018 Block to the Renewed Escalation

Even then, the company had criticized Russian authorities in an internal blog post and rejected the action as politically motivated. The renewed listing of Durov comes at a time when the Russian government has further tightened control over digital platforms and cross-border communication services.

Observers see the listing as a symbolic step: in Russia, inclusion in the register of terrorists and extremists is regularly used to justify the complete or partial blocking of online services associated with the person. The Russian Central Bank has also previously prohibited the disbursement of funds to listed persons, raising the question of the extent to which regular Telegram functions such as paid subscriptions or the payment service introduced in the spring can still be used in Russia.

Consequences for Users and the Digital Ecosystem

While the official justification for the new listing has not been made public by Moscow so far, the signal to users in Russia is likely to be clear: those who continue to actively use the messenger must expect legal or financial consequences, Svintsov had warned. The already severely restricted independent reporting in Russia is thus losing another central tool for digital distribution.

Regardless, it remains to be seen how Durov and Telegram's management will respond to the new listing. After Durov's arrest in France last year and the subsequent court proceedings, the company's leadership had distanced itself but maintained a dialogue with the authorities. This stance could now be put to the test again by the Russian listing.

The news also caused a stir internationally in crypto circles, since Durov had at times distributed the cryptocurrency Toncoin via the Telegram platform, and a possible drop in Russian user numbers could have implications for the ecosystem. Should Moscow further restrict access to Telegram, this would be another step in the years-long simmering dispute between the Kremlin and the platform.

For now, what is certain is that with the listing, Durov is considered a terrorist and extremist in Russia, and the political escalation between Moscow and the messaging service has thus reached a new level. The Russian authorities and the FSB in particular have so far largely remained silent on the specific background of the new measure.