September 02, 2024

Telegram Founder in Hot Water


Telegram Founder in Hot Water
Durov in Berlin in 2013.  TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram and VKontakte, was arrested in France on August 24.

A statement from the French prosecutor's office reported that Durov was detained at Le Bourget Airport outside Paris as part of a criminal investigation launched on July 8 by the Cybercrime Department.

The investigation is connected to ongoing allegations that Telegram is being used for illegal activity including drug trafficking. Durov, who has French citizenship, is not currently in custody, but is not permitted to leave French territory until the investigation concludes. 

Telegram has been something of a "wild west" of social media platforms, and has become a go-to space for developments in Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

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February 01, 2010

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Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

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This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

The Moscow Eccentric
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Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

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