Telegram Crisis Deepens: Durov Added to Terror List

Pavel Durov, the founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, has been officially placed on Russia's list of terrorists and extremists by the Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring). This move escalates the ongoing conflict between the Russian authorities and the encrypted messaging platform.

Previously, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Durov of "assisting terrorist activities" and announced an international arrest warrant had been issued against him. These accusations follow a period where Telegram faced access restrictions within Russia, and the company incurred fines exceeding 100 million rubles.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated on July 27 that discussions were ongoing regarding Telegram's full operational status in Russia. However, he noted that the company's representatives had not been sufficiently active in these discussions. Telegram remains one of Russia's most popular messaging and social media applications, highlighting the significance of the ongoing dispute for millions of users.

The inclusion on the list carries significant implications for Durov and potentially for the platform's operations within Russia, signaling a hardening stance from the Russian government.

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Contacts are continuing regarding Telegram's full operation at maximum capacity, but the company's representatives have not been active enough in this process.