Telegram was co-founded by Pavel and Nikolai Durov, the brothers who had previously created VKontakte. VK is Russiaās equivalent of Facebook, a social network used for public and private messaging, audio and video sharing as well as online gaming. In January, SimpleWeb reported that VK was Russiaās fourth most-visited website, after Yandex, YouTube and Googleās Russian-language homepage. In 2016, Forbesā Michael Solomon described Pavel Durov (pictured, below) as the āMark Zuckerberg of Russia.ā Stocks closed in the red Friday as investors weighed upbeat remarks from Russian President Vladimir Putin about diplomatic discussions with Ukraine against a weaker-than-expected print on U.S. consumer sentiment. Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images Ukrainian forces have since put up a strong resistance to the Russian troops amid the war that has left hundreds of Ukrainian civilians, including children, dead, according to the United Nations. Ukrainian and international officials have accused Russia of targeting civilian populations with shelling and bombardments. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been a driving force in markets for the past few weeks.
from jp
