VKontakte (VK) founder Pavel Durov, who was dismissed from his post as CEO of Russia's largest social network on Monday, plans to launch a mobile social network this year and does not plan to return to Russia.
“I’m out of Russia and have no plans to go back,” Durov told online
publication TechCrunch. “Unfortunately, the country is incompatible with
Internet business at the moment,” he said.
Durov said the fact that the VK shareholders accepted his resignation
he tendered a month before was “the final nail in the coffin” of both
the social network and his management of the company.
“I’m afraid there is no going back, not after I publicly refused to
cooperate with the authorities. They can’t stand me,” Durov was quoted
as saying.
Durov said he found out about the dismissal from the press, as the
“shareholders did not have enough courage to do this directly.” He said
that earlier VK’s shareholders publicly acknowledged the retraction of
his resignation and he was surprised to hear that he had not processed
the retraction according to “all the rules.”
Sergeyev and first deputy CEO Boris Dobrodeyev will run the company until shareholders appoint a new CEO.
Sergeyev said on Monday that shareholders might offer Durov the position of chief architect at VK.
“Durov is the founder of the network, a visionary, a phenomenally
gifted person and such involvement would be extremely beneficial. The
position of chief architect has been created at the company. I’m
confident that the best decision would be to offer it to Durov,”
Sergeyev said.
Durov believes his dismissal is linked to his refusal to comply with
Russian law enforcement authorities’ demands to hand over personal data
on the organizers of the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine and the shutdown
of Alexei Navalny’s group.
VK’s principal shareholder is Russian Internet company Mail.ru Group,
which owns 52% of the social network, including a 12% stake previously
owned by Durov. Mail.ru is controlled by billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
Ilya Scherbovich’s United Capital Partners (UCP) owns 48% of VK.
Durov suspects that the decision to dismiss him was made by the
shareholders together, but UCP has distanced itself from this decision.
UCP partner Yury Kachuro said UCP found out about Durov’s dismissal from
the press and is demanding that this issue be discussed at the next
board meeting.
Commenting on Durov’s claims about pressure from the authorities, the
UCP partner said Durov, embroiled in a feud with shareholders, made
these claims to present himself as a “political martyr.”
Durov sold his 12% stake in VK at the beginning of this year against the backdrop of a feud with UCP.
At the beginning of April, the feud escalated into litigation. UCP
filed a lawsuit against Durov and Mail.ru in the British Virgin Islands
over Durov’s launch of the Telegram messenger. UCP believes VK has
claims on Telegram because the messenger was developed by Durov using
the social network’s resources. UCP also acquired three U.S.-based
companies – Telegram LLC, Digital Fortress and Pictograph – from Durov’s
partner. They own a number of rights related to the messenger,
including the rights to the Telegram and Telegraph brands in the United
States.
Durov, in turn, announced a lawsuit challenging the deal in which UCP
acquired 48% of VK from co-founders Vyacheslav Mirilashvili and Lev
Leviyev in April 2013 without a mandatory offer being made to other
shareholders. Mail.ru Group backed Durov and its firm Bullion
Development Ltd., which holds 12% of VK stock, also filed a lawsuit
against UCP demanding a review of the deal.
