Pavel Durov, a 41-year-old tech billionaire sometimes dubbed “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg”, showed little sign of concern over the case launched by the Federal Security Service (FSB) last week. “After the meeting, Durov decided to leave Russia.” Despite its official hostility to Telegram, the Russian government has continued to use it as a primary means of public communication. The key problem for Russia, Kononov said, is that Durov continues to refuse its demands for access to data on political dissidents, foreign intelligence agents and other targets. “That was the only appeal from the Russian state to Durov – ‘please let us in’ – and he didn’t do it.”