Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and puts him on wanted list

Russia’s main domestic security agency said Wednesday that Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging app Telegram, has been charged with aiding terrorism and put on an international wanted list.

The charges against Durov, who was born and began his career in Russia but later moved abroad, came as the Russian authorities restrict Telegram, one of the most popular messaging apps in the country. It is part of a long-term effort to bring the internet under the Kremlin’s full control that has intensified since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB, accused Telegram’s administration in a statement of failing to remove “numerous channels, chats and bots” that are “actively used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies, terrorist, and extremist organizations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass murder, and cyberfraud" in Russia, which resulted in “numerous human casualties.”

The agency accused Ukrainian security services of using a popular dating chat bot on Telegram to lure and recruit Russians for “sabotage and terrorist activities,” and said 46 users of the chat bot, from 12 to 22 years old, have been detained across Russia since July 2025.

Durov earlier this year announced that the Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation against him and accused them of fabricating pretexts to restrict access to Telegram as part of an attempt to “suppress the right to privacy and free speech.”

If convicted, Durov could face up to life in prison in Russia.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russian authorities have engaged in multipronged efforts to rein in the internet. They have adopted restrictive laws and banned websites and platforms that don’t comply and focused on improving technology to monitor and manipulate online traffic.

Multiple popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and X, have been banned in Russia; YouTube has been throttled; popular messaging apps, such as Signal and Viber, have been blocked, and the most popular ones — WhatsApp and Telegram — have been restricted.

While it’s still possible to circumvent some of the restrictions by using virtual private network services, many of them are routinely blocked, too.

At the same time, Russia actively promotes the “national” messaging app known as MAX, which critics say could be used for surveillance. The platform is touted by developers and officials as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services, making payments and more. It openly declares it will share user data with authorities upon request, and experts also say it doesn’t use end-to-end encryption.

Durov has faced criminal investigations elsewhere. In 2024, he was arrested in Paris over allegations that his platform was being used for illicit activity, including drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images.

This story has been corrected to show the potential penalty is life in prison, not 15 years.

FILE - Pavel Durov, founder of Russia's leading social network site VKontakte, or "in contact", stands in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, May 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Roman Kulik, File)

FILE - Protesters hold a portrait of messaging app Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov designed as an icon, protesting against the blocking of the app in Russia, during a May Day rally in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov smiles following his meeting with Indonesian Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Aug. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File)

The app Telegram, center, a popular messenger app in Russia restricted by authorities, is shown on a smartphone in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo)

The app Telegram, a popular messenger app in Russia restricted by authorities, is shown on a smartphone in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo)

FILE - Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov appears at an event on Aug. 1, 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — At 60, Too $hort is helping usher hip-hop into what he calls its senior citizen era. Just don’t expect him to rap like one.

The Oakland hip-hop pioneer is still recording, touring and talking slick more than four decades after he began selling homemade tapes on the streets of the Bay Area. While the genre has long treated aging like an unwritten career-ending offense, Too $hort is breaking the rule and challenging the culture’s elder statesmen to keep going with him.

His latest proof is “Sir Too $hort Vol. 2: Drink & Smoke,” his 23rd studio album, produced entirely by longtime collaborator Lil Jon. It arrives Friday, exactly 20 years after the release of his enduring hit “Blow the Whistle.”

Too $hort, whose catalog also includes classics like “The Ghetto” and “Shake That Monkey,” says he isn’t interested in slowing down anytime soon. That was certainly evident when he and E-40 performed at the NFL Honors in February.

In an interview with The Associated Press this week, Too $hort reflected on turning 60, challenging hip-hop’s age limits, preserving the legacy of Lil Jon’s late son, DJ Young Slade, the staying power of “Blow the Whistle” and why he has no plans to stop until “the wheels fall off.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

TOO $HORT: At the age of 14 or 15, my mentality was, “Let people hear this music. We’re going to rock some house parties and high school dances and sell some tapes to fans in the streets.” When I got my foot in the door, I knew this was going to be my job. It was always “till the wheels fall off.” It was never, “Let’s do this for 30 or 40 years.”

I’ve always said the day hip-hop is no longer my job is probably the day I’ll stop. But the love I have for hip-hop won’t allow me to stop recording. I’ve never taken a long break. I’ve continuously been in the studio, continuously doing shows. I just keep it going because it’s my job.

TOO $HORT: I truly love making music. It’s never felt like work. I could have stopped after “Blow the Whistle” and been like, “Story told.” But somebody’s got to go out into these uncharted waters and blaze the trail. Look at E-40,Snoop Dogg,Fat Joe and the other guys who kept going after the kids were grown and the grandkids were on the way.

Who laid the rule down that in hip-hop you gotta stop at 40? Every milestone they said was old. First it was 30, then it was 40, then it was 50. Now we got senior citizen rappers, and this ... is real. Hip-hop is entering the place where jazz, blues and R&B have older artists who are still performing and recording. We should too.

TOO $HORT: I don’t know if you could give me the ingredients and tell me how to do it again; I don’t think I could. It had to happen organically. I give Lil Jon a lot of credit because he’s made a lot of songs we’ve loved since the day they came out. We make good music together, and that’s why I’m excited for people to hear what we’re still doing 30 years after we first worked together.

TOO $HORT: His son passed away after we finished recording. We had actually done about twice as many songs as ended up on this project. I saw how it affected Jon, and I had recently lost my brother, so I knew that feeling of loss. The whole time, Slade was producing or co-producing a lot of the tracks I was working on. The first thing that came to me was that I’d be more than proud to be part of his son’s legacy and give something to the world that would help him live forever. Jon keeps saying, “Slade’s legacy,” and I’m just trying to be a part of that and show the world we lost another good, talented person.

TOO $HORT: We did one in 2020, but it wasn’t a battle. We had a good time. We did a lot of laughing, a lot of togetherness. I didn’t want to battle 40 then, and I don’t want to battle him now. That’s my best friend in hip-hop. I’d sign up for me and 40 against anybody. That’d be fun. They haven’t had two groups. … I put that out there: Who wants to battle Too $hort and E-40 in Verzuz?

Too $hort poses for a portrait on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Too $hort poses for a portrait on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Too $hort poses for a portrait on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Too $hort poses for a portrait on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Too $hort poses for a portrait on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)