Russian lawmaker warns that paying for Telegram Premium could mean funding Durov amid his terrorism case, yet has a Premium subscription of his own

Andrei Svintsov, deputy chair of the Information Policy Committee in Russia's State Duma, told Russian-language broadcaster RTVI that the criminal case against Telegram founder Pavel Durov for aiding terrorism does not prohibit Russians from using the messenger, but recommended they avoid paid subscriptions. He stated that while there is nothing wrong with using the app, he advises against new Premium subscriptions, purchasing TON cryptocurrency, or any other transactions that send money to Durov's company. He added that previously paid Premium accounts are not illegal and can be used.

Independent Russian news outlet Verstka later revealed that Svintsov himself has a Telegram Premium subscription, along with Roskomnadzor head Andrei Lipov, Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev, and VK CEO Vladimir Kirienko. Svintsov denied buying Premium himself, saying: "I didn't set any of this up. Maybe one of my aides gave it to me as a gift — there's a feature for that. I'm no expert on it. If I've broken any law, I'll answer for it like any other citizen. I'll drop the [premium subscription] if that's technically possible."