Russia’s Federal Security Service breaks off contact with Telegram founder Pavel Durov, accusing him of enabling terrorism and child exploitation
Russia’s Federal Security Service chief said Wednesday that talks with Telegram founder Pavel Durov had broken down. Speaking to Kremlin press pool reporter Alexander Yunashev, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov accused the messaging platform of enabling crimes ranging from child exploitation to terrorism while Durov pursues personal financial gain.
Bortnikov said the FSB had previously held discussions with Durov, but that the talks “led nowhere.” He said Durov “pursues his own self-interest, ultimately enabling a wide range of criminal activity, including crimes against children — which we have repeatedly flagged — as well as terrorist attacks and acts of sabotage.” Bortnikov said the FSB was no longer in contact with the Dubai-based entrepreneur and gave no indication that talks would resume.
The remarks mark a new low in the long and contentious relationship between Telegram and Russian authorities. Putin has acknowledged meeting Durov in Moscow years ago, describing the encounter as a routine business meeting at which Durov outlined his commercial plans. In his biography of Durov, journalist Nikolay Kononov wrote that Durov viewed his 2013 meeting with Vladimir Putin as a “one-sided conversation.” During the meeting, the Russian president reportedly criticized him for illegal content shared on VKontakte, the social network Durov co-founded before leaving Russia.
Telegram was blocked in Russia in 2018 after the FSB demanded access to users’ encryption keys, a request the company refused. Authorities lifted the ban in 2020. In February 2025, Russian authorities began throttling access to Telegram nationwide — an “authoritarian move” Durov publicly criticized as an assault on “freedom and privacy.” Bortnikov rejected that characterization, telling Yunashev, “No one is violating freedom of speech. We need to protect the public’s interests.”
