"It looks like a children's hit on Pavel Durov"

The New Gazetapublished letters that the creator of the VKontakte social network Pavel Durov and his former press secretary Vladislav Tsyplukhin allegedly sent the former first deputy head of the presidential administration Vladislav Surkov. Judging by the text of the messages, the social network actively collaborates with the special services, blocks objectionable accounts at their request, creates “provocate” groups to incite conflicts within the opposition, but nevertheless does not want to completely remove the opposition communities, because this will damage the Image of VK and play into the hands of their main competitors - Facebook.

On the Internet, everyone immediately began to actively discuss whether real letters or fake published a New Gazeta. Durov himself and the former press secretary of VK Tsyplukhin categorically deny that they are the authors of published letters. The current press secretary of VK Grigory Lobushkin also wrote that all this is “nonsense based on a fictional letter” and added that, perhaps, the leadership of social networks will sue the “new newspaper”: “It’s a shame to read this. It’s very insulting. Moreover, after a total pressure from the Skremlin media. It would be better if Durov eats babies, than this. We will be forced to go to court. "

Many wondered why the letters were handed over to the newspaper and who can stand behind this-the enemies of Pavel Durov in business, power structures or someone else. Publicpost asked the experts whether letters to the original were similar to whether the social network is able to cooperate with the special services, and also learned from the author of the sensational material - Andrei Kolesnikov, how he was going to answer the accusations that published letters are fake.

Andrey Kolesnikov, observer of Novaya Gazeta, author of the material about Durov:

“We, of course, will not open sources. We work with these people, we work fruitfully. Opening the source, we will deprive the public of the masses of other interesting plots of public interest. If we have any complaints, naturally, this is one side of the problem. You can continue to develop this plot-to translate it into the judicial plane. It depends on how the circumstances will develop.

But we are a big serious newspaper, we do not print fake. We do not participate in other people's games, we selectively relate to what comes to us, to what our investigative department, our sources, are overlapping, we are very wary of. Everything is absolutely clean here, everything is true.

- Are you 100 % confident in the reliability of the source?

Absolutely, otherwise we would not publish. Such claims begin to us every time when something interesting is published. The last time in my memory there were many complaints about the publications of documents of the Public Chamber, when we presented a list of members of the OP with the characteristics that they gave them in the administration (president - approx. Ed.). Then they also said that this is fiction, but for fiction it is too difficult. It is impossible to parody to such an extent bureaucratic logic, bureaucratic language, PR. It is impossible to compose for Durov the text that we brought. This must be a very sophisticated person in order to talk with the presidential administration in such expressions. And very smart, in my opinion, is very subtle. I think that Surkov appreciated the logic when I read that it was not necessary to block the opposition communities in VK, because it deprives, firstly, to control them, and secondly, passionate youth will go to Facebook and it will only be worse. In my opinion, this is the right logic, and it is not necessary to be ashamed of the one who wrote this letter, being forced to communicate with the presidential administration. And they are clearly forced, and do not, of their own free will do.

So everything is clean with us, everything is. And a rather large array of materials confirming that it was a long -term productive cooperation. The network community, it is quite specific, suspects us of a fake, but this is definitely not a fake. "

German Klimenko, owner of LiveInternet :

“Firstly, Durov doesn’t say so. This is not his style. But Tsyplukhin cannot do that. Theoretically, everything could be, probably, because there is no one else to write such letters. The letter is written by the classic royal style, which is accepted just in these penalties. That is, I can assume that they are working, I can assume that the facts themselves could theoretically be in place because we all live in the place of all. The country where the opinion of the authorities must be taken into account too.

- Who can be beneficial to this publication?

There is some kind of struggle with Malofeev and with a safe Internet league (Konstantin Malofeev is the largest minority of Rostelecom and the head of the safe Internet league . Durov at the end of 2012 said that Malofeev leads against the “VK” media campaign-approx. Ed.). No one will succeed in stopping this in one day, even if they exchanged polite comments. That is, Durov has some kind of enemy who does such things. It’s just that no one needs to do this, and this is not against Tsyplukhin directed: no one needs it. Therefore, we can assume that this is something of the last scandals. From the last scandals that we know is with Rostelecom. It may also be that someone is playing this card, so that Durov still quarrels with Rostelecom. Here, maybe the second and the third layer. "

Yuri Synodov, creator and editor -in -chief ROem.ru :

“Specifically, this letter looks like a fake, although, of course, there are some things and thoughts that Pavel Durov said. The logic of all these officials is thin and not always understandable: any pressure can be used later in the negotiations when the side is in stress. Who can be initiated by this all is unknown. It can be better to ask Durov himself who is trying to talk to him now. Trying to agree on the sale of a share, for example, that the method of action in Russia is quite standard, then someone else appears on the horizon that we can solve such problems. History as a bargaining coin is unlikely to succeed. "

Mikhail Gurevich, TMT Investment Foundation:

"It is clear that any resource at the request of the Ministry of Internal Affairs gives IP data for investigation or criminal cases. This is everyday practice, moreover, all international services have the same everyday practice in different countries. Relatively speaking, if your server is popular somewhere in Bulgaria and if you do not want you to have any claims and sanctions, you, of course, give information from the point of view of VKontakte, it is clear that it is clear that it is clear that it is clear that it is clear that it is clear that it is clear that This is the main country, because the correspondence is not provided, with which IP addresses were accessed to one or another account from which some kind of unlawful actions are provided by court decision.

As for the eternal accusations that they blocked and gave out some extremist accounts and something else, we must not forget that VKontakte was constantly accused of something. Either in the propaganda of fascist ideas, supposedly fascists or nationalists can gather through VKontakte, although there were no precedents, since such gatherings occurred through the forums, and not through social networks, although it would be easier. Therefore, such an accusation does not work. And most importantly, it must be understood that the “VK” around content-music, cinema, photographs-but not around some marginal communities. It is not interesting to promote them, because “VK” is a private company, and from the point of view of a private company, the development of the mainstream is always more interesting.

- Who is profitable to arrange a scandal with the participation of Durov?

From the point of view of political processes, VK in Russia is a powerful unifying base. If you hurt it, then the anger of the global audience of VK will be great. If you make protests on an all -Russian scale, then this is only through the "VK": neither Facebook nor "Odnoklassniki" will not be able to collect. To do this, the feelings of users and organizers "VK" must be affected. This is just God forbid. This base is not politically structured, this is the usual mass of people, but it is so loyal to this brand and its services that if you touch their consumer needs, then the reaction to such restrictions can be much worse for the authorities than Sakharov, Bolotnaya and Boulevards. On the other hand, in the same way, it is clear to the authorities that some pacification of the "VK" can be quite indicative. Another thing is whether they have enough strength for this. I doubt it and would not recommend it.

The letter reminds me more than a fake. The text is pronounced, not characteristic of the genre of PR Imije "VK". We all roughly imagine, as Durov writes, we represent the brevity of his reaction. Here, such servility is clearly not consistent with this. From Tsyplukhin, I don’t remember such letters either. This is something new.

- Could there be such a correspondence?

Of course, it could be. Any server communicates with law enforcement agencies. This is fine. Is there a fact of some kind of correspondence? I am sure that there is. I think that these letters are at least torn out of context, but as a maximum, it is quite possible that partially not at all. Again, I do not think that this fake was created in the Novaya Gazeta.