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Russia's Interior Ministry says Telegram refuses to cooperate on drug propaganda
En breve
Russia's Interior Ministry said Telegram is not responding to its offers of contact in the fight against drug propaganda, with the acting head of its drug-control directorate, Kirill Smurov, saying the messenger is used to draw teenagers into drug crimes. Smurov said Telegram “does not react to anything and does not share information” and that its founder, Pavel Durov, takes anti-Russian positions. None of the documents reviewed contains a comment from Telegram.
Leer la noticia completa 2 min de lectura
Russia's Interior Ministry said Telegram is not responding to its offers of contact in the fight against drug propaganda. Kirill Smurov, acting head of the ministry's Main Directorate for Drug Control, said at a meeting of the presidium of the Public Council at the Interior Ministry that the messenger's founder, Pavel Durov, does not react to proposals for contacts. The statement was reported by TASS, RIA Novosti, Kommersant, Vedomosti and Interfax. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
According to Smurov, apart from the darknet, communication between drug consumers and distributors mostly takes place through Telegram, and teenagers are drawn into drug-related crime through the messenger. He said Telegram “does not react to anything and does not share information”, and that blocking groups promoting drugs is the task of the operators themselves, citing Yandex as a company that blocks such groups on its own. Kommersant noted that without working interaction with the platform, identifying and blocking drug-related communities cannot rely on operational help from Telegram itself. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Smurov also said Durov “takes anti-Russian positions” and expressed regret over it, adding that Durov ignores the proposal to fight drug crime in the messenger. Kommersant and Vedomosti both carried those remarks. [ 3 , 4 ]
In Russia, Durov faces a criminal case: he is charged with aiding terrorist activity under part 1.1 of article 205.1 of the Criminal Code and was put on an international wanted list on 29 July, Vedomosti and Interfax reported. Kommersant reported that in July he was added to the register of terrorists and extremists. According to the FSB, the Telegram administration did not delete channels, chats and bots that Ukrainian special services used to prepare attacks, mass killings and cyberfraud in Russia. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
Vedomosti also reported that on 29 July the FSB said it had identified schemes for drawing Russian teenagers and young people into criminal activity through the Telegram chatbot “Дайвинчик/Leo”, and that 46 citizens aged 12 to 22 had been detained in several Russian regions since July 2025 in joint operations with the Interior Ministry and the Investigative Committee. [ 4 ]
Interfax noted that Roskomnadzor has said Telegram, whose operation in Russia began to be restricted in August last year, still does not fulfil the requirements of Russian legislation, and that the restriction will continue. Kommersant added that the UN has called Telegram attractive to criminals because of minimal content moderation, and that in February 2026 Telegram described itself as an uncensored platform with maximum freedom of expression, listing terrorism and child pornography among its exceptions and not naming drug content. [ 3 , 5 ]
Por qué importa
Russia's drug-control police say the messenger where, by their account, most drug-related contacts take place will not cooperate, which they say limits their ability to identify and block such communities. The statement comes amid terrorism charges against Telegram's founder and continuing restrictions on the service in Russia, pointing to further pressure on the platform. Telegram has not responded publicly in the documents reviewed.
Datos clave
- Kirill Smurov, acting head of the Interior Ministry's Main Directorate for Drug Control, said Telegram does not respond to offers of contact from Russian police on fighting drug propaganda. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Smurov said that, apart from the darknet, drug consumers and distributors mostly communicate via Telegram. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Smurov said blocking groups that promote drugs is the task of the operators themselves, citing Yandex as a company that blocks such groups on its own. [ 5 ]
- Smurov said Telegram founder Pavel Durov takes anti-Russian positions and ignores the proposal to fight drug crime in the messenger. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Durov has been charged in Russia with aiding terrorist activity and was put on an international wanted list on 29 July; in July he was added to the register of terrorists and extremists. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The FSB said that since July 2025, 46 people aged 12 to 22 were detained in joint operations with the Interior Ministry and the Investigative Committee over the Telegram chatbot “Дайвинчик/Leo”. [ 4 ]
- Roskomnadzor has said Telegram still does not comply with Russian law and that restrictions on the service will continue, Interfax reported. [ 5 ]
Confirmado por varias fuentes
- The Interior Ministry's Kirill Smurov said Telegram does not respond to offers of contact with Russian police on fighting drug propaganda. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Smurov made the statement at a meeting of the presidium of the Public Council at the Interior Ministry. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Smurov said Telegram founder Pavel Durov takes anti-Russian positions. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Pavel Durov has been charged in Russia with aiding terrorist activity and is on an international wanted list. [ 4 , 5 ]
- According to Smurov, apart from the darknet, drug consumers and distributors mostly communicate via Telegram. [ 3 , 5 ]
Aún sin aclarar
- Whether Telegram or Pavel Durov has responded to the Interior Ministry's statement. None of the documents reviewed contains a reaction from Telegram or Durov.
- The current status of restrictions on Telegram's operation in Russia. Only Interfax reports Roskomnadzor's position; no document gives the present access status of the service.
- Smurov's assertion that Pavel Durov takes anti-Russian positions. This is a characterisation by the Interior Ministry official; the documents give no supporting evidence.
Qué dicen los medios locales
Cronología, hora local
- TASS reports the Interior Ministry's statement that Telegram refuses to cooperate in fighting drug propaganda. [ 1 ]
- RIA Novosti reports that Telegram ignores proposals on fighting drug propaganda. [ 2 ]
- Kommersant publishes Smurov's remarks including criticism of Pavel Durov's position. [ 3 ]
- Vedomosti reports the statement and background on the criminal case against Durov. [ 4 ]
- Interfax quotes Smurov saying Telegram “does not react to anything and does not share information”, and cites Roskomnadzor on continuing restrictions. [ 5 ]