Analysts are divided about what is going on. One theory holds that Vkontakte is being targeted by a sinister – possibly Kremlin-inspired – campaign to remove Mr Durov and tame the Russian internet. Others point out that Vkontakte would hardly be the first internet company to become hostage to the unpredictable behaviour of a visionary and unorthodox chief executive. It is possible that both versions are correct.
Mr Durov, who is fond of dressing in the manner of Neo, the black-clad lead character from the sci-fi film The Matrix, built Vkontakte from a small start-up in 2006 to a site with almost 120m users that is thought to be worth $1.5bn to $3bn. Forty per cent of the company is owned by Mail.ru, the venture capital group whose board is controlled by Alisher Usmanov, one of Russia’s richest men.
(You may need to register to view the article)
