In Russia, people are so afraid for Durov that they have come out to rallies, and the Russian ambassador is demanding a meeting. Photo.

In Russia, the news of the detention of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France caused a real hysteria. While Z-propagandists are whining about how likely it is that problems with this resource will affect communications in the occupation forces, the so-called Russian liberals have organized a protest outside the French embassy in Moscow.

The Russian authorities are equally alarmed by the news: the Russian ambassador to France is trying to arrange a meeting with Durov, and officials and pro-Kremlin artists are using his detention to "advertise" the "homeland." The situation is actively covered by the Russian media.

For example, the ASTRA publication reports that a protest rally against Durov's detention was even held in Moscow. The journalists said that the event was organized by the Russian party "New People".

The rally was attended by the Russian dictator's former "rival" in the March 2024 presidential election, Vyacheslav Davankov, who serves as the Deputy Speaker of the State Duma. He and his party associates came to the French Embassy in Moscow. There, the "protesters" stuffed white paper airplanes into the bushes near the embassy: because of their resemblance to the Telegram logo, they were previously used as a symbol of protest against the blocking of the messenger in Russia.

Davankov, ASTRA continues, also called on the Russian Foreign Ministry to "pull out" Durov, and came to the rally with his uncle, who is running for the Moscow City Duma as a New People candidate.

Davankov's appeal seems to have been heard by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Moscow, through its embassy in Paris, is seeking a meeting with the detained businessman, who has four citizenships, including Russian and French.

"After the news of Mr. Durov's detention appeared in the media, we immediately requested an explanation from the French authorities about the reasons and demanded that his rights be protected and that he be granted consular access. As of today, the French side has so far avoided engaging on this issue. We are in contact with Mr. Durov's lawyer," the Russian Embassy in France said in an official statement.

The "talking head" of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, also spoke out on this issue. She has been repeating statements about the "double standards" of Western human rights organizations regarding the regulation of the Telegram messenger and confirms the ardent desire of Russian diplomats to visit Durov in a French prison.

"Russia has sent a note demanding access to Durov, but Paris perceives his French citizenship as the main one," Zakharova complained to Russian propagandists.

Meanwhile, a wave of hysteria swept through Russian pro-war Z-publics: propagandists fear that Durov's detention will hit the "second army of the world." After all, the Russian occupiers actively used Telegram, as one of the propagandists admitted, to communicate and attack Ukraine.

"Just yesterday, we were guiding Iskanders via Telegram. Our artillery is guided via Telegram, our aviation is guided... Whether someone likes it or not, I'm sorry, this is reality... We are at war on the Internet. We have drone broadcasts via Discord, we have targeting via Telegram, we work with our sources of information via Telegram," the propagandist said in one of his Russian TV broadcasts.

Other propagandists predict a catastrophe for the occupation army if Telegram is shut down, calling the messenger "almost the main means of communication" and one of the factors that "holds the front" and Durov himself "essentially the chief of communications of the Russian Armed Forces."

Meanwhile, first-tier propagandists and pro-Kremlin mouthpieces began to spin the news of Durov's detention to create an image of "Russia as a motherland" and almost the last refuge of freedom of speech.

In particular, propagandist Margarita Simonyan took the opportunity to remind us of old grievances. She said that Durov's detention was his own fault: he should not have "helped block RT channels in European countries."

"He partially cooperated with Western intelligence services - at least he strictly complied with the order to block RT in those countries where we are under sanctions. It didn't help. That was to be proved," she said.

And the "main singer of war" in the Russian Federation, "Shaman," began to call on Durov to "come home." In a video recorded for this purpose, he said: "Pash, dear! You can breathe freely and easily only in Russia. Come back home. Here you are remembered, loved and always waited for."

Durov's detention forced even the former Russian president, now the first deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, to react. He recalled the Telegram founder's alleged refusal to cooperate with Russian special services and said that he had warned Durov that he would "have serious problems in any country."

"He decided that he had the biggest problems in Russia and left, then also obtained citizenship/residence permits in other countries. He wanted to be a brilliant "man of the world" who lives a wonderful life without a homeland. He miscalculated. For all of our common enemies, he is now a Russian - and therefore unpredictable and dangerous. He is of a different blood. Definitely not Musk or Zuckerberg (who, by the way, is actively cooperating with the FBI). Durov must finally realize that the Fatherland, like the times, is not chosen," Medvedev said.

It is noteworthy that Medvedev reacted to the news of Durov's detention within hours of it happening, while after Ukraine's operation in Kursk region, it took him about two weeks to formulate his reaction.

As a reminder, it became known about the detention of Pavel Durov at the Paris airport late in the evening of August 24. Subsequently, there were reports that he was taken into custody on suspicion of involvement in a number of serious crimes.

According to French media, Durov was detained for "refusing to cooperate with law enforcement agencies." In particular, it is believed that the tools of his Telegram messenger are used by drug dealers and other criminals. Accordingly, "this makes him an accomplice in drug trafficking, child abuse and fraud," investigators believe.

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