Pavel Durov Declared a “Terrorist” in Russia
Illustration: Orda.kz
Russia’s financial intelligence agency, Rosfinmonitoring, has added Telegram founder Pavel Durov to its list of terrorists and extremists, Orda.kz reports.
Durov’s name appeared with a special designation indicating that he is facing criminal charges under Russia’s terrorism laws.
Durov responded shortly afterward.
Russia has designated me as a “terrorist” for refusing its demands for mass surveillance and censorship on Telegram. Under Russian law, I’m banned from “publishing information on the Internet”. Russian officials have clearly got confused about who can ban whom from the Internet.
he wrote on Telegram.
He accompanied the post with a split image. One side showed Durov labeled a “terrorist.” The other showed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shaking hands with representatives of the Taliban under the caption “respected partners”.
The Charges Against Durov
On July 29, Russia’s Federal Security Service charged Durov with aiding terrorist activity under Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code and placed him on an international wanted list.
Investigators allege that Telegram failed to remove channels, chats and bots used by foreign intelligence services and banned organizations to coordinate sabotage and terrorist attacks in Russia.
The FSB also claimed that Ukrainian intelligence services used the Telegram dating service Daivinchik to recruit Russian teenagers. According to the agency, 46 young users have been detained across 16 Russian regions since July 2025 on suspicion of attacking police officers and committing arson.
Telegram Remains Available
Rosfinmonitoring said the restrictions apply to Durov personally, not to Telegram as a company.
Financial institutions operating under Russian law must freeze Durov’s assets and transactions. Limited payments for basic living expenses and family support are still permitted.
Ekaterina Mizulina, head of Russia’s League for a Safe Internet, said users can continue buying Telegram Stars, gifts, Premium subscriptions and other digital products.
Lawyers offered different assessments. Media lawyer Svetlana Kuzevanova said purchases would be prohibited only if Telegram itself were declared extremist. Lawyer Anna Minenkova argued that Durov’s inclusion on the list already creates substantial legal and financial risks for payments within Telegram’s ecosystem.
Durov also remains under investigation in France over alleged complicity in crimes linked to Telegram, including fraud, money laundering and the distribution of illegal content.
Original author: Ruslan Loginov
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