Telegram's founder was forced to sell his business to Putin's cronies and leave Russia after he publicly refused to cooperate with Russian secret services durin

Telegram's founder was forced to sell his business to Putin's cronies and leave Russia after he publicly refused to cooperate with Russian secret services during anti-Putin protests back when he was still running VK (Russia's Facebook). A few years later, Kremlin banned Telegram in Russia. I find the idea that Telegram is funded by Russia ridiculous. He is as anti-Putin as you can get.