Durov refuses to consider himself Russian businessman?

A number of businessmen, including Pavel Durov, have recently asked not to be called Russian citizens, focusing on foreign citizenship.

According to Forbes, after the start of the special operation in Ukraine, the US, UK and the EU imposed sanctions against businessmen from Russia, "froze their business, tracked down their superyachts and stopped their planes."

So it's not surprising that in recent years - and especially in recent months - Forbes has noticed a growing trend: many billionaires with ties to Russia are very unwilling to be called Russians.

Forbes points out that Telegram founder Pavel Durov allegedly "wanted to inform” about his French citizenship.