Russian authorities have opened an investigation into Telegram founder and tech mogul Pavel Durov on suspicion of “abetting terrorist activities,” a sign that the widely used messenger app — deeply embedded in everyday life and a key communications tool for Russian troops in Ukraine — may soon face an official ban in the country.
Two national newspapers — the state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta and the Kremlin-friendly tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda — on Tuesday published lengthy articles “based on FSB materials,” referring to Russia’s Federal Security Service, accusing Telegram of becoming “a primary tool” for foreign intelligent services.
“During the special military operation, Telegram has become the primary tool of NATO intelligence agencies and the Kyiv regime for inciting protest activity, radical ideology, and the preparation and commission of vastly increased sabotage, terrorist, and extremist crimes, as well as fraud,” Komsomolskaya Pravda wrote, using a Kremlin euphemism for the war in Ukraine.
Both articles accused Telegram of enabling subversive acts within Russia and threatening state security, adding that Durov’s “actions … are under criminal investigation.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Russian authorities have registered “a large number of violations [by the app] as well as Telegram management’s unwillingness to cooperate.”
Andrey Svintsov, a member of a parliamentary committee on information policy, told state media that “if Telegram doesn’t begin to cooperate [with the authorities] within the next month or so,” it will be deemed “an extremist organization,” a label that effectively means it would be banned under Russian law.
The investigation comes as Russia intensifies efforts to push users away from WhatsApp, Telegram and other foreign-developed messaging services and toward the domestic platform Max. The service is intended to become a national messenger app similar to China’s WeChat and has been criticized by internet freedom advocates as a centralized surveillance tool.
Durov started Telegram in 2013, portraying the app as a privacy-focused alternative to state-controlled platforms. He announced his departure from Russia the next year after saying the Kremlin had forced him to sell his stake in VK, the country’s largest social network and Durov’s first big IT success. Durov has since acquired French and Emirati citizenships.
Durov was arrested in France in 2024 after French authorities launched an investigation into Telegram’s lack of content moderation, accusing the company of failing to cooperate with law enforcement on issues including child pornography, cyber scams and organized crime, accusations he denied. Last year, France lifted a travel ban imposed on Durov, allowing him to return to Dubai, where Telegram is based. The case is still pending trial.
The articles published Tuesday in Russian media accused Telegram of complying with requests from Western governments while ignoring those from Russian authorities and alleged that Ukraine had used data obtained through the platform to carry out attacks inside Russia.
The reports claimed that Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor sent Telegram more than 150,000 requests to remove various content but that “all of them have been ignored.” A piece in Komsomolskaya Pravda claimed that the app has been used to assassinate nine Russian generals and is linked to more than 33,000 incidents described as bombings, arson attacks on military recruitment centers and killings since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russia began throttling Telegram’s traffic this month over what it said was its refusal to store user data in the country and remove content the country deems illegal. WhatsApp was also blocked nationwide this month after earlier throttling and restrictions, with Signal, Viber, Discord, FaceTime and many other services banned throughout the war.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the news of the investigation, but Durov said earlier in February, in response to the throttling of Telegram, that “Russia is restricting access to Telegram to force its citizens onto a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship.”
The decision to slow down Telegram was met with resistance even among pro-Kremlin figures, with popular military bloggers saying that the app has become the primary messenger among Russian military personnel, remaining “almost the only means of communication in active troops” and used as a “field headquarters in one’s pocket.”
As of early this year, Telegram and WhatsApp each had more than 100 million monthly users in Russia — an audience the Kremlin is seeking to steer toward Max, though adoption has been slow. To accelerate the shift, authorities have stepped up a campaign against VPN services, forcing users into a daily cat-and-mouse chase to stay online as more bypassing tools are being restricted.
“Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia,” WhatsApp said in response to the Feb. 12 ban. “We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.”
Russia attempted to ban Telegram in 2018 by blocking millions of IP addresses after the company refused to comply with the demand to hand over encryption keys, but the effort largely failed, as users and Telegram bypassed the restrictions using proxies and other tools, leaving the service widely accessible. The ban was lifted in 2020.
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