Kremlin fears over the internet have grown since Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012 amid an unprecedented wave of protests that many of which were aided by social media. Since the internet has become a place where people can voice their opinion without boundaries, it's yet untouched by Kerimlin's hand, which controls most print and television media either directly or indirectly.
To get more grip over the internet in the country, the Russian government investigates VKontakte, its popular social network, The Russian version of Facebook has had its offices searched and its ownership structure shaken. VK is also popular in Russia because of it hosts pirated copies of films and television shows.
The home of VK's co-founder, Pavel Durov, was also investigated.
Amid the ongoing scandal, United Capital Partners, a fund belonging to Ilya Shcherbovich, a board member at the state-owned oil giant Rosneft, swooped in to unexpectedly buy 48 percent from other two VKontakte co-founders, Vyacheslav Mirilashvili and Lev Leviev. With that, the fund has now become the biggest shareholder in the company.
While Durov holds 12 percent of VK, the remaining 40 percent is owned by Mail.ru, a Russian internet group controlled by Alisher Usmanov, a Kremlin-friendly man.
With 88 percent of the social network controlled by businessmen loyal to the government, "Putin is now the de facto owner of VKontakte," said a Russian internet insider.