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Global Media Control, Corporations, Israel, Putin, and Nuclear War
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Global Media Control, Corporations, Israel, Putin, and Nuclear War - Video
MOSCOW, April 22 (UPI) -- Pavel Durov, founder of VKontakte, claims that he has been removed from his position and the Russian government has taken control of the website.
VKontakte is the Russian version of Facebook and is the country's most popular social media website. Durov said Monday that he has been fired from his position, and that the social media platform is now under the control of two close allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Today, VKontakte goes under the complete control of Igor Sechin and Alisher Usmanov," wrote Durov on his page. "Probably, in the Russian context, something like this was inevitable, but I'm happy we lasted seven and a half years ... we did a lot. And part of what's been done can't be turned back."
Usmanov is a medals tycoon who has launched his own tech business and until recently owned a 10 percent share in Facebook. Sechin, one of Putin's closest advisers, is the leader of a military group made up of former KGB agents that back Putin, and is the CEO of the state-owned oil company.
Durov has previously been asked to shut down pages related to Putin opposition leader Alexey Navalny. He says he has refused all such requests. Durov found out about his dismissal by the VKontakte board through news reports. The board is citing the reason for his dismissal is his failure to formally withdraw his letter of resignation by the appropriate deadline.
VKontakte is used by more than 100 million users in Russia and Europe.
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VKontakte founder: Social media site under Kremlin control
VKontakte founder and CEO Pavel Durov says he was fired over his resistance to Moscow's efforts to monitor and control access to the popular social media platform.
Russia's version of Mark Zuckerberg,VKontaktefounder and CEO Pavel Durov, is out of a job.
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After what he describes as a long, under-the-carpet battle with Kremlin-linked forces who tried to force him to turn over user data to Russian secret services, Mr. Durov posted on his personal VKontakte pageMonday that he found out from the media that he was fired, and criticized shareholders for not having the "courage" to do it to his face. He added that "complete control" of the mainly Russian-language, Facebook-like social media site is now in the hands of Igor Sechin,the head of the Kremlin-owned oil company Rosneft, and Russia's richest man, metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov.
VKontakte claims to have more than 100 million registered users, primarily in the former Soviet Union, which would make it Europe's biggest social media network.
"Something like this was probably inevitable in Russia, but I am glad that we held out for 7-1/2 years," Durov said. "We accomplished a lot. And some of what we've managed to do cannot be undone."
It's been a long and murky saga.
Durov is a flamboyant and sometimes controversial figure who once threw paper airplanes made of 5,000 ruble notes (about $160) from his office window to see how people in the street would react (it reportedly created pandemonium). About a year ago he was accused in a bizarre hit-and-run incident, in which he allegedly ran over a policeman's foot. He denied it, insisting that he does not even drive a car. While he was under investigation, his partners reportedly sold 48 percent of the company to an investment fund run by a senior executive in the Kremlin oil company Rosneft.
Scrolling down Durov's VKontakte page reveals the milestones of what he says has been his struggle to protect the data of his users.
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