A Russian Elon Musk with 100 biological children: Meet Pavel Durov

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was recently detained in France, bringing attention to the debate between the app’s end-to-end encryption and governments’ security concerns. Durov, known as a programming prodigy and billionaire entrepreneur, has lived a borderless life, advocating for freedom of communication. He previously clashed with the Kremlin over VKontakte (VK), a social media site he created. Durov’s decision to refuse the Kremlin’s request for private data of Ukrainian users led to his resignation. He later founded Telegram due to his experience and desire for a messaging platform free from government intrusion. Telegram’s strong encryption and commitment to privacy attracted millions of users. Russia attempted to ban Telegram in 2018, but the ban was lifted in 2020. Despite allegations about the company’s ties to the Kremlin, Telegram continues to operate in Russia without restrictions. The app’s abuse by criminals has raised concerns, leading to Durov’s recent detention in France. However, Telegram has stated that blaming the platform or its owner for abuse is unfounded.