Russia opens criminal case into Telegram founder Pavel Durov

Claim of ‘abetting terrorist activities’ comes as Kremlin attempts to steer users on to state-controlled app

Russia has launched a criminal investigation into the Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, on suspicion of “abetting terrorist activities”, further escalating the Kremlin’s standoff with the widely used messaging app.

The state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported on Tuesday that a case had been opened “based on materials from Russia’s federal security service”, which accused the app of being compromised by western and Ukrainian intelligence.

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Why This Matters

Claim of ‘abetting terrorist activities’ comes as Kremlin attempts to steer users on to state-controlled app

Russia has launched a criminal investigation into the Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, on suspicion of “abetting terrorist activities”, further escalating the Kremlin’s standoff with the widely used messaging app.

The state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported on Tuesday that a case had been open... The story is categorized under International with a negative tone (score -0.23).

In Week 9 2026, International accounted for 55 related article(s), with UK Politics setting the broader headline context. Coverage of International decreased by 11 article(s) versus the prior week, but remained material in the weekly agenda.

Coverage Snapshot

Week 9 2026 included 55 International article(s). Leading outlets for this topic included NY Times, CNBC, BBC. Across that cluster, sentiment showed a mostly neutral skew (avg score 0.02).

Key Insights

Primary keywords: russia, criminal, case, telegram, founder.
Topic focus: International coverage with negative sentiment.
Source context: reported by Guardian Business.
Published: 2026-02-24.
Published by Guardian Business, a widely cited major outlet.
Date context: published during Week 9 2026, when UK Politics dominated weekly headlines.

Tone & Sentiment

The article tone is classified as negative, driven by the language and emphasis in the summary. The sentiment score of -0.23 indicates the strength of that tone.

Context

This piece fits within the broader International narrative, connecting current events to ongoing developments. Readers tracking International trends can use this article as a concise signal of what is shaping coverage right now.

Related Topics

International

Key Takeaway

In short, this article underscores key movement in International and explains why it matters now.

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Guardian Business Russia opens criminal case into Telegram founder Pavel Durov