I guess I have to admit he has been in Russia at least 2 or 3 times since 2012. (The 2017 story is low on verifiable details I think although I admit I read it through Google Translate.)
The last story however seems to be about Telegram, an anti spam company that owned a minority share in Telegram and fell out with Telegram, not the company that develop Telegram, doesn't it?
Those are just stories that made it to press and that I was able to dig up quickly. Durov did visit St Petersburg from time to time, it was an open secret when I lived there.
As for the last story: I was a bit sloppy about that link, the story I was referring to is better covered here [1] (that's a disgruntled employee spilling beans).
The fact that Telegram was still being developed in that Zinger building in St Petersburg was not particularly secret either, VK'S HR was not coy about the fact when showing me around the office. I also heard the same from multiple people working in that building.
I guess I have to admit he has been in Russia at least 2 or 3 times since 2012. (The 2017 story is low on verifiable details I think although I admit I read it through Google Translate.)
The last story however seems to be about Telegram, an anti spam company that owned a minority share in Telegram and fell out with Telegram, not the company that develop Telegram, doesn't it?