Friday 7 October 2016

Once Celebrated in Russia, the Programmer Pavel Durov Chooses Exile - The New York Times

Once Celebrated in Russia, the Programmer Pavel Durov Chooses Exile - The New York Times: "Not long ago, Mr. Durov, 30, was seen as Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg. He founded a social network, VKontakte, which is more popular in Russia than Facebook, and made a splash by publicly offering Edward Snowden a job.

Then the Kremlin tightened its grip over the Internet and President Vladimir V. Putin’s allies took control of VKontakte. Mr. Durov eventually sold his remaining stake for millions and fled Russia in April, after resisting government pressure to release the data of Ukrainian protest leaders.

Continue reading the main story

Mr. Durov, known for his subversive wit and an all-black wardrobe that evokes Neo from the “Matrix” movies, is now a little-seen nomad, moving from country to country every few weeks with a small band of computer programmers. One day he is in Paris, another in Singapore."

RELATED COVERAGE Mail.ru Takes Full Ownership of VKontakte, Russia’s Largest Social Network SEPT. 16, 2014 Russia Quietly Tightens Reins on Web With ‘Bloggers Law’ MAY 6, 2014  'via Blog this'

No comments: