Russia Labels Telegram Founder Durov an Extremist

Russia's financial monitoring agency, Rosfinmonitoring, has added Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging platform, to its list of extremists and terrorists. The move follows accusations by Russian authorities that Durov aided terrorist activities.

Moscow claims Ukrainian intelligence services used Telegram to organize attacks inside Russia. The Federal Security Service (FSB) also said it would place Durov on an international wanted list, but did not provide further details.

According to Reuters, the move is part of broader Kremlin pressure on Telegram as Russian authorities seek to curb the platform in favor of state-backed digital services.

Telegram's official account on X posted an image of Durov making an obscene gesture. Durov later posted a meme on his Telegram channel contrasting his designation as a “terrorists’ accomplice” with an image of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meeting Taliban representatives.

(Reuters, MJA)