Telegram founder Pavel Durov, once lauded by Western media and politicians for his stance against censorship and his refusal to cooperate with intelligence agencies, has been arrested in France for actions that previously earned him praise.
This dramatic shift in Western attitudes towards Telegram and Durov is worth a closer look.
‘The good old days’: Maidan protests in Ukraine
Telegram was launched in 2013, and it did not take long for the app to come under scrutiny. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) soon demanded information on the organisers of the Maidan protests in Ukraine, which were coordinated via Telegram.
Durov refused to comply and left Russia six months later, citing the impossibility of running an independent internet business in the country. In an interview with TechCrunch, “Unfortunately, you can’t run an internet business in this country. I’m afraid there’s no going back for me, especially after I publicly refused to cooperate with the authorities,” Durov lamented in an interview with TechCrunch.
After leaving Russia, Durov became a well-known figure in the West. He was praised for standing up to the ‘evil Russian regime’, protecting user data and opposing censorship.
Telegram became a popular tool among Western politicians and media, especially during the 2020 protests in Belarus, which were largely coordinated through the app.
Covid-19 pandemic: Telegram’s image in the West
But this positive attitude towards Telegram lasted until the Covid-19 pandemic, when Western platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp began implementing strict censorship measures to ‘fight disinformation’.
Telegram, which allowed dissenting voices to be heard, was suddenly labelled a ‘dangerous platform’ by the same Western media that had once praised it.
The Western establishment, which had praised Telegram for protecting the right to protest in Russia and Belarus, now saw it as a threat to public order within its own borders.
Strict censorship policies in the West are also worth mentioning. In the European Union (EU), a law was passed forcing internet platforms to actively monitor content, essentially censoring anything that contradicts the dominant transatlantic narratives.
Moreover, it is no secret that Western internet platforms share user data with government authorities. Ironically, what the Russian state demanded of Durov years ago, the West is now demanding of tech companies.
But the situation in the West is even worse. Neither Durov nor his associates, some of whom still live in Russia, have been detained or arrested in Russia. Moscow has only asked for targeted access to specific information under certain conditions, as opposed to the general surveillance now common in the West.
From the West’s dear friend to the devil
Pavel Durov, who once attracted enough Western attention to be included in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Young Global Leaders programme, now faces a prison sentence.
Russian authorities and prominent figures have long advised Durov to return to Russia for his own safety, but he has ignored these warnings. Now, as his arrest in France hits the headlines, the reactions of Russian officials and public opinion paint a picture of irony and vindication.
How did Moscow react?
In a statement on Durov’s arrest, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova highlighted the hypocrisy of the West’s position:
“The Russian Embassy in Paris immediately began its work, as it does when it is informed of the detention of Russian citizens by local authorities. There is no need to remind our diplomats of their duties. But I recall that in 2018 a group of 26 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House and others, condemned the decision of the Russian judiciary to block Telegram. They called on the UN, EU and other governments to stand up to Russia’s actions and defend the fundamental rights to freedom of expression and privacy.”
Zakharova asked whether the same organisations would appeal to Paris for Durov’s release, or whether this time they would remain silent.
The deputy chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, also referred to Durov’s case, pointing out the risks of trying to take a principled stand without cooperating with law enforcement:
“Some time ago, I asked Durov why he refused to cooperate with law enforcement when it came to serious crimes. That is my principled position,’ he replied. I told him: ‘Then there are serious problems in every country. He felt that he had the most serious problems in Russia and left the country, taking up citizenship or residence elsewhere. He wanted to be a brilliant ‘citizen of the world’. He miscalculated. To all our common enemies he is just another Russian and therefore unpredictable and dangerous.”
