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Celebrated Russian Hacker Now In Exile

Posted by Soulskill on from the hoping-the-next-leap-will-be-the-leap-home dept.

An anonymous reader writes: VKontakte is a Russian social network, more popular there than even Facebook. Its founder, Pavel Durov, was a celebrity for his entrepreneurial skills, much like Mark Zuckerberg elsewhere. But as Russia has cracked down on internet freedoms, 30-year-old Durov had to relinquish control of the social network. He eventually fled the country when the government pressured him to release data on Ukrainian protest leaders. He's now a sort of roving hacker, showing up where he's welcome and not staying too long. "Mr. Durov, known for his subversive wit and an all-black wardrobe that evokes Neo from the Matrix movies, is now a little-seen nomad, moving from country to country every few weeks with a small band of computer programmers. One day he is in Paris, another in Singapore." Durov said, "I'm very happy right now without any property anywhere. I consider myself a legal citizen of the world."

12 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Snowden revenge? by dskoll · · Score: 5, Funny

    With Putin giving the US a black eye by harbouring Edward Snowden, maybe this guy will find sanctuary in the US? :)

    1. Re:Snowden revenge? by jfdavis668 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Maybe Edward can rent him his house, he won't be using it any time soon.

    2. Re:Snowden revenge? by dskoll · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When all is said and done, the US is still a helluva lot freer than Russia. But I was being facetious; the last place he should go is the USA or we'd see a Snowden - Durov swap in the blink of an eye.

    3. Re:Snowden revenge? by flyingsquid · · Score: 5, Funny

      Or maybe both of them can go into exile together in a third country. And Julian Assange can go there too. And they'll share an apartment together. It'd make a great sitcom. "Three hacker dissidents exiled from their native countries... now they're all living in one house! See what kind of wacky adventures they get into!"

    4. Re:Snowden revenge? by murdocj · · Score: 3

      I wondered how long it would take someone to hijack this thread into "USA evil". Congratulations.

  2. A Ukrainian joke by mi · · Score: 3, Funny

    One Ukrainian says to another:

    • Hey, whatever you say about the rest of them, I still know one good Russian...
    • Who?!
    • Gérard Depardieu!
    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:A Ukrainian joke by SLot · · Score: 4, Funny

      A better joke:

      Two Ukranian men are sitting in Odesa, discussing what is going on in Ukraine over a drink.

      Man 1: I stopped speaking Russian.
      Man 2: Why? Afraid the Ukranians will beat you?
      Man 1: No, that Russians will come to protect me.

    2. Re:A Ukrainian joke by SLot · · Score: 5, Funny

      Haha, touche! Half of me wants very much to see my friends in kyiv, dnepropetrovsk & lviv, but the other half says wait a little while longer....

      also: What do Putin, oil and the ruble have in common? They all hit 63 next year. ;)

  3. Yeah, easy for you by OverlordQ · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When Mr. Durov sold his stake in VKontakte last December, there was speculation it was worth a few hundred million dollars. Mr. Durov would not give a specific figure, citing a nondisclosure agreement.
    [...]
    “I’m very happy right now without any property anywhere,” he added. “I consider myself a legal citizen of the world.”

    When your net-worth is 7 figures at a minimum, that's a bit easier to do.

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  4. Re:So you think... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yes, it is. That one police state is slightly less worse than another doesn't change that both are police states.

  5. Re:Commie Critter On The Lam? by SLot · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://dealbook.nytimes.com/20...

    The Russian Internet giant Mail.ru said on Tuesday that it had bought the remaining stake in Vkontakte, the country’s largest social network, that it did not already own for $1.47 billion.

    Mail.ru is owned by Alisher B. Usmanov.

    From http://qz.com/268023/this-puti... :

    Usmanov is one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “oligarchs,” a group of businessmen with close ties to the Kremlin, and last year Putin awarded him Russia’s highest civilian award, the Order for Service to the Fatherland.

    That ought to clear up who is running/owns VKontakte.

  6. Re:Snowden vs Durov by armanox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And what has Durov done that was traitorous or cowardly?

    And for that matter, Snowden was a patriot, and far from a coward. A coward would have kept his mouth shut.

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.