Telegram founder Pavel Durov published several mysterious posts on his official account on the VKontakte social media network before deleting them minutes later.
The entrepreneur initially uploaded two identical posts containing the phrase original text before editing. A short time later, he published an additional update containing the phrase text that should survive deletion.
All of the new updates vanished from his official profile page after approximately 20 minutes. Durov provided no explanation regarding what the messages meant or why they were removed.
VKontakte, commonly known as VK, is the largest social media platform in Russia, offering messaging, news feeds, and public communities to tens of millions of users across the country. Durov created the platform in 2006 while studying in Saint Petersburg, turning it into Russia's most popular online network before stepping down as chief executive in 2014 and leaving the country.
Following his departure from VKontakte, Durov co-founded Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging application known for its encrypted messaging features and large public channels. The service has grown into one of the most widely used messaging applications globally, particularly in Russian-speaking countries.
Russian terrorism charges
The social media posts follow official action by Russian financial regulator Rosfinmonitoring, which placed Durov on its official list of terrorists and extremists on July 30.
Russian law enforcement authorities subsequently charged the tech entrepreneur with assisting terrorism. According to investigators, Telegram failed to limit or restrict user access to numerous online channels and communities that were actively used to plan sabotage, terrorist acts, and other criminal offenses inside Russia.
It was previously reported that the Telegram founder reacted to his addition to the government blacklist by posting a meme online, choosing to joke about the decision by Russian regulators.
Rosfinmonitoring, formally known as the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation, acts as Russia's primary financial intelligence agency. Individuals placed on its terrorist registry face immediate freezes on their domestic bank accounts and strict limitations on personal financial transactions within the country.
