Telegram founder Pavel Durov clarifies on protecting Ukrainians' data from Russian Govt

With many countries coming forward in support of Ukraine amid Russia's invasion, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov shared a post on his history of protecting user data from the Russian government. Posting a tweet with a link, Pavel Durov spoke about how his family line traces back to Ukraine's capital Kyiv. 

Detailing on the matter of user privacy, Telegram's founder wrote, "Nine years ago I was the CEO of VK, which was the largest social network in Russia and Ukraine. In 2013, the Russian security agency, FSB, demanded that I provide them the private data of the Ukrainian users of VK who were protesting against a pro-Russian President". 

Speaking of his family history, he mentioned that he trace his family line from Kyiv from his mom's side whose maiden name is Ukrainian (Ivanenko) and that to this day they have many relatives living in Ukraine. "That's why this tragic conflict is personal both to me and Telegram", Durov stated. 

He further explained the reason to end his career in Russia and mentioned that in the early 2010s, when he was the founder of the dominant social network in Russia, VK, the Russian government pressured him to hand over the data of Ukrainians opposing the Russia-friendly Ukrainian leader. But, he refused to do so and ended up losing control of VK. 

"I lost my company and my home, but would do it again – without hesitation. I smile with pride when I read my VK post from April 2014, which shows the scanned orders from the FSB and my trademark response to them – a dog in a hoodie", Durov, a current French citizen said. 

It is to be noted that amid the recent developments in Russia’s attack on Ukraine, US tech giants including Google, Facebook and Twitter are facing growing pressure to respond more aggressively to the situation. 

Russia-Ukraine war

The 13th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine has begun as the enemy force appears to be stalled on its northern front, while things have slowed down in the south. For Russian forces, logistics remain a major issue and Ukraine's military seems to be taking advantage of that, attacking rear logistics routes whose vehicles are not heavily armored or well defended.

In a recent update, Russia has declared a new ceasefire from 10 a.m. Moscow time (12.30 p.m IST) on Tuesday, to allow safe evacuations of civilians from corridors including Kyiv, Sumy, Maripol, Kharkov, and Chernigov. 

(Image: AP/Durov/Instagram)