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Meduza in English (meduza_en@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 04-Sep-2026 03:59:03 JST Meduza in English

A 24-year-old programmer who worked on the FSB's surveillance system left Russia with an archive of its internal technical documents. Here's what he told iStories.
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/09/03/he-helped-build-the-surveillance-system-the-fsb-uses-to-spy-on-russians-then-he-smuggled-out-its-internal-documents-here-s-what-he-told-istories
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  He helped build the surveillance system the FSB uses to spy on Russians. Then he escaped Russia with an archive of its internal documents. Here’s what he told iStories. — Meduza
  
  Journalists from iStories talked to Ivan Kirsanov, a 24-year-old programmer who worked at a company owned by the Citadel holding. The holding is the main developer of SORM, the FSB’s surveillance system. In 2025, Kirsanov left Russia and took with him an archive of technical documentation on SORM. He now lives in France on a student visa, works part-time as a shepherd on a farm, and is challenging the denial of his refugee status. Here is what Kirsanov said about himself, his work for the FSB, and the system used to spy on Russians.
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