As a geographer specializing in Russian-speaking cyberspace, I will give you some hot facts about Durov's arrest, its geopolitical consequences... and above all, I will seize an unexpected opportunity to explain the concept of topological powers
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First, some facts about Durov. Before being the founder of Telegram, he was mainly the founder of Vkontakte, the major Russian social network. Durov played an important role in the major anti-Putin demonstrations of 2011-2012, by refusing to cooperate with the FSB
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He was expelled in 2014, after refusing yet another request for cooperation. I talked about it 10 years ago (already!) in this article.
https://shs.cairn.info/revue-herodote-2014-1-page-140?lang=fr
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A persona non grata in Russia, Durov became a luxury globetrotter. He founded Telegram, which would have the success it is known for. In 2018, he was once again in the crosshairs of the Russian authorities who tried, unsuccessfully, to block Telegram in the country
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At the time, Durov inflicted a strong symbolic defeat on the Russian government, which, by its inability to block TG, highlighted Russia's inability to regulate its cyberspace. Here again, he officially refused to collaborate with the FSB.
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Since that date, Telegram has never really been worried by the security services. The application is even used today by some Russian military units on the Ukrainian front
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How can we explain such a turnaround? We can always postulate a secret agreement with the Russian authorities, but that does not explain everything. The concept of topological power helps to understand what could have been at stake and what is at stake in the terrible jails of the Republic
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Indeed, Durov has built an empire that today connects more than 1 billion human beings. As a result, he has what is called in geography an immense "topological power", meaning that he controls a strategic node in cyberspace and derives considerable power from it.
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From the point of view of the Russian authorities, it has probably become too important, too central a player in the "Runet" of which Telegram is an essential cog.
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Among the various topological powers that he exercises, there is one that is crucial in my eyes: it is the one that results from the fact that Telegram has become the main vector of Russia's informational influence in the world.
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This is particularly the case with the coverage of the war in Ukraine, where many milbloggers thus participate in its publicization. In other words, Telegram has become the network where defeats and victories are attributed, and where part of the archives of this conflict are written
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This reflection on the narration of war in the era of OSINT and “participatory intelligence” was at the heart of the issue of the @RevueHerodote that we directed with @maximeaudinet in 2022 and that you can find here:
https://www.herodote.org/spip.php?rubrique96
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In other words, Durov plays a crucial role in the narrative (some would say cognitive) dimension of this war. But his topological power does not stop there, as evidenced by TG's central role in coordinating Russian paramilitary groups in Africa
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While it is too early to know what the consequences of his arrest will be, let's keep in mind that France has here a character of rare geopolitical magnitude. Even if a priori this is not directly linked to the charges for which he is imprisoned
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And if you want to know more about topological powers, read the excellent John Allen:
https://www.routledge.com/Topologie...itory-and-networks/Allen/p/book/9780415521345
www.iltalehti.fi
en.wikipedia.org
