Who is Pavel Durov, the Russian genius and creator of the social messaging program Telegram? Pavel Durov, the inventor of Telegram, is also the founder of the social networking platform VKontakte, known as the Russian Facebook before the Telegram app.
Pavel Durov’s Life
Tech-savvy Pavel Durov was born on October 10, 1984, in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, which was then known as Leningrad. Throughout his youth, he has had a great interest in software technology. Durov, who began writing software and coding at the age of 11, demonstrated his expertise in software by hacking a sign in his school.
Pavel Durov, who spent most of his life in Italy because of his father’s business, eventually returned to Russia. Durov returned to Russia at the age of 17 and enrolled in a physics and mathematics school. Following in his father’s footsteps, Durov graduated with the top rank in Philology from Saint Petersburg State University in 2006.
It is stated that Nikolai Durov, a well-known programmer and mathematician, had an effect on Telegram creator Pavel Durov‘s success. Nikolai Durov, born in 1980, is regarded as a singular intellect in the disciplines of mathematics and programming. Nikolai, who had several triumphs in this discipline, competed in the international mathematics olympiads in 1996, 1997, and 1998, winning the gold medal three years in a row at the age of 16. Nikolai, who had built a reputation for himself via his accomplishments, focused on computer programming during his university years and won key competitions in this field as well.
Under the inspiration of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, Pavel Durov started the social website VKontakte with the moniker VK, known as Russia’s Facebook, with his elder brother Nikolai Durov after graduating from university. VK, which gained widespread prominence in a short period of time, earned Pavel Durov almost 260 million dollars. After around 5 years, the firm, which had been founded as a result of significant efforts, began to have some challenges due to political views.
Following the 2011 election, the Russian authorities ordered that Alexei Navalny’s VK account be deactivated and the site be taken over by the state. Pavel Durov reacted strongly to this circumstance by threatening the authorities with a dog photo he uploaded to his VK account. It is known that Pavel did not reveal himself to the cops who arrived at his residence following this post. Durov had already burnt the ships, which irritated the Russian police. In 2011, VK, a Russian lawyer and activist Alexei Navalny, who was opposed to the government, began to use it as a forum for gathering followers. This circumstance landed Pavel in hot water with the Russian government and the police. Durov, who had embarked on an irreversible road, declined the pro-Russian government Mail.ru, one of Russia’s major online corporations, to purchase VK in 2012.
Due to issues with the Russian government, Pavel Durov was forced to sell 12% of his firm, VK, for which he worked tirelessly, to Ivan Tavrin, the owner of another online social network, Mail.ru. Mail.ru took control of VK in 2014 after purchasing all of the company’s shares. In addition to VK’s absence, many issues with the government began to emerge. Durov, who was charged with assaulting a police officer in Moscow in 2013, said he didn’t even know how to drive. As things became severe, the cops called on Durov’s house but couldn’t find him since he and his elder brother had already left for New York.
The Founding of Telegram
Pavel Durov co-founded Telegram, a social messaging network with an encrypted algorithm, with his elder brother in New York. Telegram, which rose to prominence in a short period of time, is utilized today all over the world. Russia banned the Telegram app in 2018 after the secret service declined a request to re-access user data. However, it was reopened following the reactions.
Pavel Durov spends his days touring the world with his four staff while maintaining anonymity. Despite the prospect of being apprehended, it has been shown that he continues to thrive by continually shifting locations. Pavel Durov, who just issued a statement about the events he witnessed, indicated that he has no regrets and that he safeguards the personal data of Ukrainian nationals.
“I was the CEO of VK, the largest social network in Russia and Ukraine at the time, nine years ago. In 2013, the Russian intelligence service FSB requested that I give private information about Ukrainian VK users who were protesting a pro-Russian president. I declined to comply with this request since doing so would betray our Ukrainian users. Following that, I was sacked from my own firm and was forced to flee Russia. If you’ve been following my blogs, you’ll know that my mother’s family has origins in Kiev. My mother’s maiden name is Ukrainian (Ivanenko), and we still have many relatives in Ukraine. This is why I and Telegram are both affected by this awful conflict.” Pavel Durov stated.
What is Telegram, and Why Is It So Popular?
With an emphasis on privacy and security, Telegram offers extraordinary features not found in other messaging apps. This cloud-based app uses end-to-end encryption for messages and secret chats that can only be accessed from the device they originated from, a service valuable to those needing extra protection while communicating through text or audio/video calling. Additionally, users are able to send self-destructing messages, which will automatically delete after a specified amount of time – perfect for sending sensitive information without leaving any trace.
With its support for sizes up to 200,000 members, Telegram is the go-to app for larger groups. Whether it’s communities or companies needing to communicate with a more extensive audience – no other messaging platform provides such an expansive capacity! Plus, you can use Telegram on virtually all major platforms like iOS, Android, and Windows, plus macOS and Linux. For added convenience, you don’t need to download anything; access it via a web browser instead!
Telegram is also very attractive to users due to its customizability. Consumers can create their own personalized themes and use bots for automated functions such as services or other tasks. To further work in favor of the app’s fame, channels are available which help broadcast messages to a broad audience – whether that be businesses, influential figures, media outlets or more!