Pavel Durov

Technology entrepreneur (born 1984) · Russia · Founders · also Saint Kitts and Nevis · also United Arab Emirates · also France

Pavel Durov is read about 2,631 times a day, in 75 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026

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He built a social network Moscow wanted controlled, left Russia rather than comply, then built Telegram - a messaging app large enough that both France and Russia have now issued arrest warrants against him, each accusing him of enabling what the other calls freedom.

A life in dates

2026“Russian officials are clearly confused about who can ban whom from the Internet”In their words31 July 202608:37, 31 July 2026 (UTC)~[https://x.com/durov/status/2082872046229283046 ]Read the whole statement

2021“In my 20 years of managing discussion platforms, I noticed that conspiracy theories only strengthen each time their content is removed by moderators.”In their words21 July 2021"t.me/durov/163" 2021-07-21Read the whole statement

2019“Every one of us is going to die eventually, but we as a species will stick around for a while. That’s why I think accumulating money, fame or power is irrelevant.”In their words15 May 2019"Why WhatsApp Will Never Be Secure" 2019-05-15Read the whole statement

1984Born10 October 1984

Also in Deutsch

Photos 4

Pavel Durov at the HighLoad++ conference in Moscow, 2010

Pavel Durov at the TechCrunch conference in Berlin, 2013

Pavel Durov and Mike Butcher at the TechCrunch conference in San Francisco, 2015

In their own words 5

Pavel Durov

5 statements, newest first

Russian officials are clearly confused about who can ban whom from the Internet
Jul 31, 2026, 08:37, 31 July 2026 (UTC)~[https://x.com/durov/status/2082872046229283046 ], Own words
In my 20 years of managing discussion platforms, I noticed that conspiracy theories only strengthen each time their content is removed by moderators.
Jul 21, 2021, "t.me/durov/163" 2021-07-21, Own words
Every one of us is going to die eventually, but we as a species will stick around for a while. That’s why I think accumulating money, fame or power is irrelevant.
May 15, 2019, "Why WhatsApp Will Never Be Secure" 2019-05-15, Own words

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On YouTube

25.2K subscribers

Open channel on YouTube

Family

Father Valery Durov

Pavel Durov

Sibling Nikolai Durov

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About this person

Pavel Durov was born in the Soviet Union on 10 October 1984. In 2006 he co-founded VKontakte, Russia's largest social network, but by 2014 disputes with new owners and pressure from Russian authorities forced him out and drove him from the country. A year earlier, in 2013, he and his older brother Nikolai had already started work on Telegram; by 2017 they moved its headquarters to Dubai. Forbes listed him among its billionaires in 2023 at $13 billion, though by March 2026 that figure had fallen to $6.6 billion. He holds citizenship in four countries - Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the UAE, and France - and publicly champions internet freedom against state control. In August 2024 French police arrested him on charges tied to alleged weak content moderation and refusal to cooperate with law enforcement; in July 2026 Russia issued its own warrant, accusing him of collaborating with terrorist activities.

Country

Russia