Who’s Pavel Durov, the Man Behind Telegram

Pavel Durov has made a major influence on the tech world, significantly together with his give attention to privateness and innovation.

Identified for co-founding VKontakte and later Telegram, Durov has constructed a popularity as a staunch advocate for person confidentiality and free speech.

His journey from creating Russia’s largest social community to main probably the most fashionable messaging apps globally has additionally not been with out controversy.

On this article, we’re diving deep into the biography of a controversial determine. A person who has allegedly fathered over 100 kids by means of sperm donation throughout 120 nations and gave Russian authorities the center finger (actually).

Let’s dive in.

Who Is Pavel Durov?

Pavel Valeryevich Durov is a Russian entrepreneur identified for co-founding the messaging app Telegram together with his brother Nikolai. He’s been the corporate’s CEO since 2013. Nevertheless, this wasn’t the primary social media venture the duo had labored on.

Pavel and Nikolai turned fashionable in Russia after launching VK (VKontakte) in 2006, a social media community much like Fb, which earned Pavel the nickname “The Russian Zuckerberg.”

Telegram’s success has earned the brothers important wealth. Whereas Nikolai is a extra low-key, under-the-radar kind of man, Pavel is extra outgoing and the face of the corporate (Nikolai is definitely the one who designed each Telegram and The Open Community).

Pavel’s internet price is estimated at round $15B in 2024, making him the one hundred and twentieth richest individual on the earth.

The place is Pavel Durov From?

Durov was born on October 10, 1984, in Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg, Russia. But he spent chunk of his childhood in Turin, Italy, earlier than returning to Russia, the place he graduated with honors in 2006 from the Philology Division of Saint Petersburg’s State College.

He’s additionally an official citizen of a number of nations in addition to Russia and Italy: Saint Kitts and Nevis, France, and the UAE (in 2022, Forbes acknowledged Durov because the wealthiest expat within the area, and Arabian Enterprise named him probably the most highly effective entrepreneur in Dubai in 2023).

We’ve an in depth thread on X on the matter, be happy to test it out right here:

Pavel Durov’s current arrest sparked world debates on freedom of speech involving the likes of Elon Musk, authorities leaders, and tens of millions of individuals.

Right here’s the news on the tech whale who managed to father over a 100 kids and flip Putin off, whereas making billions

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— CryptoPotato Official (@Crypto_Potato) September 8, 2024

The Origins of Telegram

In 2013, Durov co-founded Telegram, an encrypted messaging app identified for its emphasis on privateness and safety. Telegram has gained tens of millions of customers globally and has grow to be a major participant within the tech trade. Initially headquartered in Berlin, the corporate later moved to Dubai.

In his statements and opinions, Durov has at all times emphasised the significance of privateness, seeing Telegram as a device for safe and free communication.

The app has undoubtedly been a hit, but it surely got here with a worth within the type of regulatory pushback from quite a few governments internationally.

Durov has confronted many challenges, together with Russia’s makes an attempt to dam Telegram and the US Securities and Change Fee (SEC) intervention in his plans for the Gram cryptocurrency and the event of The Open Community (TON), of which Telegram carried out the unique design and implementation.

Durov was already a insurgent, however issues began to warmth up in 2011 after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin demanded the de-platforming of opposition on VK. In response, Durov gave Russian authorities the center finger, fairly actually:

In 2014, friction escalated. The Russian authorities demanded Durov at hand over person knowledge, — significantly from Ukrainian protesters towards pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych to Russia’s Federal Safety Service — and resisted authorities censorship of VK, prompting Durov to depart Russia and keep in different nations.

That very same yr, Durov additionally offered his 12% stake in VK, when the corporate had a valuation of round $3-4 billion, based on Russian media.

Nevertheless, his exit from VK on the time triggered numerous controversy, as he was ousted from the CEO place by the corporate shareholders with out prior data, in accordance to The Moscow Instances.

Durov responded that shareholders didn’t dare to do it instantly and that the transfer had positioned VK beneath the “full management” of Igor Sechin, a Kremlin-linked Rosneft CEO, and Alisher Usmanov, a VK billionaire shareholder. An excerpt from Wikipedia reads:

“Durov then stated the corporate had been successfully taken over by Vladimir Putin’s allies, suggesting his ouster was the results of each his refusal at hand over private particulars of customers to federal legislation enforcement and his refusal at hand over the private particulars of people that have been members of a VK group devoted to the Euromaidan protest motion.”

Household, Youngsters, and Some Controversies

Each Pavel and Nikolai have been raised in an surroundings deeply rooted in educational excellence, largely formed by their father, Valery Semenovich Durov.

Valery is a distinguished philologist with a Doctorate in Philological Sciences and has led the Philology Division at Saint Petersburg State College since 1992. His contributions to linguistics by means of numerous publications have earned him recognition as a distinguished scholar in his subject.

Rising up in such an intellectually stimulating family, Pavel and Nikolai have been uncovered to a world of educational rigor and mental curiosity from an early age. Their mom, Albina Durova, was additionally a professor on the identical college, reinforcing the household’s robust instructional values. This background helped nurture their particular person abilities in know-how and arithmetic (a subject wherein Nikolai excells), which might later propel them to create VKontakte and Telegram.

Youngsters

In response to Forbes, Pavel Durov has two kids together with his ex-wife, Daria Bondarenko: a daughter, Alina (born 2009), and a son, Mikhail (born 2010). Durov met Daria whereas learning at college, and as of 2021, she was dwelling in Barcelona. In that very same yr, Forbes ranked Durov’s kids because the sixth wealthiest heirs in Russia.

In July 2024, Irina Bolgar, who lives in Switzerland, contacted Forbes, presenting documentation to substantiate that she has three kids with Durov. Bolgar additionally offered a household photograph with Durov taken in 2020. Forbes verified the authenticity of those paperwork. In August 2024, Bolgar filed a lawsuit towards Durov in Switzerland, accusing him of abusing their youngest son between 2021 and 2022. She additionally claimed that Durov stopped seeing their kids in September 2022. I

Shortly after Durov’s arrest, French prosecutors began a probe into the alleged information of bodily violence towards his little one, based on CNN.

Father of Over 100 Youngsters

For those who suppose Elon Musk is the one tech billionaire who’s attempting singlehandedly to cease declining birthrates, suppose once more. Durov has made public statements claiming he has fathered greater than 100 kids by means of sperm donation throughout 12 nations since 2010.

2024 Arrest in France: A Closeup

After Durov left Russia in 2014, he targeted on Telegram, turning the app right into a pro-privacy device for tens of millions of customers worldwide. Years handed, and every little thing appeared high quality—Telegram was turning into a serious messaging app praised for its file-sharing capabilities, safety, and privateness mechanisms.

By 2024, Telegram had made headlines after reaching 950M customers worldwide. Nevertheless it was in all probability the encryption coverage that acquired Durov into bother within the first place. In at this time’s technological period, encryption is crucial for securing your delicate knowledge.

Two essential strategies are server-side encryption (SSE) and client-side encryption (CSE), every with its personal strengths and weaknesses.

Server-Facet Encryption (SSE)

In server-side encryption, just like the one utilized by WhatsApp, the server encrypts your knowledge after it’s acquired and shops it in an encrypted format. The server manages the encryption keys, which may simplify issues for you however requires you to belief the service supplier.

SSE sometimes runs quicker as a result of the server makes use of its processing energy for encryption and decryption. It’s generally utilized in cloud providers like Amazon S3, the place your knowledge is routinely encrypted at relaxation.

Consumer-Facet Encryption (CSE)

With client-side encryption, you encrypt the information utilizing your individual algorithm and key, making certain the server solely receives encrypted data. This implies you retain management over the encryption keys, enhancing safety and serving to meet strict knowledge safety guidelines. In different phrases, not your keys, not your knowledge.

Since encryption occurs in your system, your knowledge is safe throughout transmission and storage. Issues get attention-grabbing right here — even the service supplier can’t entry your unencrypted knowledge. General, client-side encryption is finest for extremely delicate knowledge, because it offers you full management over the keys and ensures privateness from the service supplier, however it could decelerate your system and add complexity, particularly with key administration and encryption processes.

And what does all of this imply? Let’s put it this fashion:

• Server-side encryption means your knowledge is protected by insurance policies.
• Consumer-side encryption means you handle the important thing, and no one can entry the information in your recordsdata.

Telegram makes use of a mix of each. Cloud Chats are encrypted on Telegram’s server utilizing client-server encryption. Telegram can entry the encryption keys and decrypt the messages if wanted. Secret Chats use end-to-end encryption, so solely the chat members maintain the encryption keys. This implies Teelgram can not entry the keys or decrypt the messages.

Subsequently, Durov might have accessed the information as a result of there was some delicate data that Telegram might technically entry and decrypt —he simply refused to cooperate with legislation enforcement.

Durov’s Arrest in France

It was all marching properly (form of) till August of 2024.

In a humorous and ironic flip of occasions, French authorities, not Russian, arrested Durov on August 25 in relation to Telegram’s content material moderation. The arrest was a part of an ongoing judicial inquiry into alleged unlawful actions happening on Telegram. It sparked widespread backlash from supporters of web freedom.

He confronted preliminary fees. See, in France, magistrates who’ve robust causes to consider {that a} crime was dedicated however want extra time for additional investigation can impose preliminary fees. Prosecutors have been quoted saying that “at this stage, the one individual implicated on this case,” is Durov.

Durov’s Launch

Later, he was launched on bail however was forbidden from leaving France. Durov launched his first assertion after the very fact:

“When Russia demanded we hand over “encryption keys” to allow surveillance, we refused —and Telegram acquired banned in Russia. When Iran demanded we block channels of peaceable protesters, we refused —and Telegram acquired banned in Iran. We’re ready to depart markets that aren’t suitable with our rules, as a result of we’re not doing this for cash. We’re pushed by the intention to deliver good and defend the fundamental rights of individuals, significantly in locations the place these rights are violated.”

A number of days later, Durov introduced new options whereas slicing “a number of outdated ones,” beginning with eradicating Individuals Close by. This function was already controversial when it was launched years in the past.

In response to Durov, Individuals Close by “was utilized by lower than 0.1% of Telegram customers, however had points with bots and scammers”.

That 0.1% of customers, accordiong to Durov, are concerned in illicit actions that create a nasty picture for Telegram, “placing the curiosity of our billion customers in danger”. Individuals Close by shall be changed by Enterprise Close by, which showcases reliable and verfied companies.

Nikolai Durov, The Mastermind Behind Telegram

The architect behind Telegram and The Open Community is Nikolai Valeryevich Durov, born on November 21, 1980, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

From a younger age, Nikolai demonstrated distinctive intelligence. He discovered to learn at simply three years previous and solved advanced equations by eight. His schooling took him to Italy, the place his mathematical abilities started to achieve consideration. Nevertheless it didn’t cease there.

Profession and Achievements

Nikolai’s achievements in arithmetic have been evident early on. He received gold medals on the Worldwide Mathematical Olympiad in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Moreover, he garnered three silver and one gold medal within the Worldwide Olympiad in Informatics from 1995 to 1998. He was additionally a key member of the Saint Petersburg State College ACM crew, which received the ACM Worldwide Collegiate Programming Contest in 2000 and 2001.

Moreover know-how, Nikolai Durov’s work spans the academia subject as properly. He has led groups of world-class programmers, growing infrastructures that energy platforms with over 300 million mixed customers.

 As if these achievements weren’t sufficient, he additionally holds two PhDs: one from Saint Petersburg State College, with a thesis on Arakelov Geometry (2005), and one other from the College of Bonn, the place he researched singular Arakelov geometry beneath the supervision of Gerd Faltings (2007). He’s at present a senior analysis fellow on the Steklov Institute of Arithmetic in Saint Petersburg, persevering with his work.

Telegram and The Open Community

Nikolai developed the MTProto protocol, which underpins Telegram’s encryption and safety, making it a most popular device for privacy-conscious customers. His contributions to those platforms, particularly the messenger app, have established him as a key determine in safe communication applied sciences.

He’s additionally a co-founder of The Open Community (TON) and authored its unique whitepaper. Though it was initially known as the Telegram Open Community and deliberate for integration with Telegram’s messaging app, regulatory challenges compelled Telegram to step again from the venture. Since then, the open-source neighborhood has continued its growth.

The Open Community is not only one other decentralized protocol. It was designed to grow to be a robust web3 blockchain ecosystem that surged all through 2024. We will summarise TON’s key options and structure as follows:

• Multi-Blockchain Structure:

TON operates utilizing a multi-blockchain construction, consisting of a masterchain and numerous workchains. The masterchain oversees key community features, equivalent to protocol updates and validator elections, whereas the workchains function independently, permitting them to be personalized for particular purposes and rising the system’s scalability.

To deal with scalability, TON employs dynamic sharding. This know-how allows the blockchain to separate and merge relying on transaction quantity, effectively distributing the workload. This structure theoretically helps tens of millions of transactions per second, making TON probably the most scalable blockchain options.

• Proof-of-Stake Consensus:

TON makes use of a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, the place validators are chosen primarily based on how a lot Toncoin they stake. This energy-efficient system helps excessive transaction throughput and is well-suited for numerous purposes, from monetary transactions to digital providers.

TON stands out for its cross-chain interoperability, enabling seamless communication between completely different blockchain networks. This function enhances the utility of the platform and permits it to work together with different decentralized ecosystems, selling a extra linked digital panorama.

Authorized Challenges

As talked about, Nikolai tends to maintain a low profile, in contrast to his extra buoyant brother. However Pavel’s arrest additionally put the highlight on Nikolai. Whereas Nikolai is much less publicly seen, he additionally faces fees on this ongoing controversy, on condition that he’s additionally a co-founder, and Telegram is accused of refusal to reasonable criminal activity on its platform.

The Warfare In opposition to Privateness

A selected quote from Durov highlights the present state of issues for tech innovation and person privateness in social media channels and purposes.

“No innovator will ever construct new instruments in the event that they know they are often personally held answerable for potential abuse of these instruments.”

This quote addresses a core challenge within the ongoing debate about privateness and innovation. It’s particularly related given the current authorized challenges that tech builders face and the broader context of privacy-focused applied sciences.

Durov’s stance on privateness, significantly with Telegram, has positioned him as a robust advocate at no cost speech and minimal content material moderation. Nevertheless, this method has additionally made him a goal for authorities in search of to control platforms that is perhaps used for unlawful actions.

Durov’s considerations mirror a rising concern amongst builders—in case you might be held personally liable for the way your instruments are used, would you continue to create them?