Though Durov portrays himself as an opponent of the Kremlin, the reality appears more complicated. Even after leaving Russia and selling his share in VKontakte, Durov was rumored to maintain ties with the country. Alisher Usmanov, an oligarch close to Putin, reportedly helped to finance Telegram in its early stages. Telegram also initially worked out of the same Singer House office in St. Petersburg as VKontakte.
Durov’s brother Nikolai, who is also wanted by France, was reported by pro-Kremlin media to be living in St. Petersburg, where he works at the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the prestigious Russian Academy of Sciences. Тhe institution’s website lists Nikolai Durov as a staff member.
Despite Nikolai’s widely reported contributions to Telegram’s success, he has always stayed out of the spotlight, leaving that role to his younger brother. According to Telegram, Pavel supports the app “financially and ideologically while Nikolai’s input is technological.”
According to an Important Stories report, based on a leak of Russian intelligence data, Durov visited Russia “more than 50 times” between 2015 and 2021. Telegram is widely used by the Russian military for battlefield communications, by pro-war military bloggers and journalists and by millions of ordinary Russians and political officials.
In Russian opposition circles, Telegram has a mixed reputation. On the one hand, it provides secure communication, safe from the FSB’s prying eyes, and an alternative platform for independent media blocked by the Russian authorities online. On the other, there have been a number of incidents in which channels or initiatives that could trouble the Kremlin were blocked or otherwise hampered by the platform.
Ukraine’s military largely uses the Signal platform for its communications, but most government agencies also have Telegram channels, and the app is also widely used for personal messages and blogs by Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.