Russian-born tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov founded a hugely popular social network as well as a cryptocurrencyAmassed billions of dollars in wealth and clashed with authorities not only in Russia but around the world.
Just months away from his 40th birthday, the man once dubbed the “Russian Zuckerberg,” Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, is now under arrest in France after his sensational detention at a Paris airport this weekend.
The St. Petersburg native rose to fame in Russia in his 20s by founding the VKontakte (VK) social network, which catered to Russian-speaking users and outpaced Facebook across the Soviet Union.
Following controversy and ownership battles with Russian authorities, he sold VKontakte and founded a new messaging service called Telegram, which rapidly gained popularity but also proved controversial as critics decried its alleged lack of control over extreme content.
While these dramas were playing out, Durov remained a volatile and sometimes mysterious figure, rarely giving interviews and sometimes limiting himself to cryptic announcements on Telegram.
Durov, a self-described libertarian, has supported privacy on the Internet and encryption for messaging.
They have explicitly refused to allow moderation of messages on Telegram, which allows users to post videos, images and comments on “channels” that anyone can follow.
Durov, 39, was issued a warrant in France for alleged crimes committed on Telegram, ranging from fraud to drug trafficking, cyberthreats and promoting organised crime, terrorism and fraud.
The investigation has been assigned to the French gendarmerie’s cyber unit and the national anti-fraud office. He was still in police custody on Sunday, according to two sources close to the case.
– ‘Thanks for all the fish’ –
In 2006, after graduating from St. Petersburg University, Durov launched VKontakte (VK), which attracted users while its founder remained a shadowy figure.
In a stunt typical of his unpredictable behaviour, Durov showered high-denomination notes on pedestrians from VK’s headquarters above a historic bookstore on St Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospekt in 2012.
But after running into trouble with the Kremlin for refusing to hand over users’ personal data to the Russian security services (FSB), he sold the company and left Russia in 2014.
Durov resigned from VK in his typical style, posting a picture of a dolphin and the slogan “So long and thanks for all the fish”, a title from the famous “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” science fiction series.
Together with his brother Nikolai, he developed the Telegram messaging service while traveling from country to country and launched the service in 2013.
He settled in Dubai and obtained citizenship of the Caribbean archipelago Saint Kitts and Nevis, then, in August 2021, acquired French nationality after a low-profile process about which Paris is highly secretive.
Meanwhile, Telegram has enjoyed tremendous success, presenting itself as a champion of personal freedom, refusing “censorship” and protecting the privacy of its users.
This angered the authorities, especially in their country, and in 2018 a Moscow court ordered the application to be blocked. But the implementation of this measure was embarrassing and three days later, protesters bombarded the FSB headquarters with paper planes, ironically bearing the symbol of Telegram.
Since then, Russia has abandoned its attempts to block Telegram and the messaging service is used by both the Russian government and opposition, with some channels having several million subscribers.
Telegram also plays a key role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, which is documented by bloggers on both sides who post their analysis and videos of the fighting.
Pro-Moscow channels run by so-called “Z-bloggers” who support the war have proven highly influential and sometimes criticise Russian military strategy.
– ‘Prefer privacy’ –
Durov avoids traditional media interviews, but in April he had a wide-ranging discussion with the ultra-conservative American journalist Tucker Carlson.
“People like freedom. They also like privacy and independence, (there are) many reasons why someone would switch to Telegram,” Durov told Carlson.
He also does not shy away from posting messages on his Telegram channel claiming that he leads a solitary life, abstaining from meat, alcohol and even coffee. Always dressed in black, he resembles actor Keanu Reeves in the movie “The Matrix”.
In July, he claimed to be the biological father of more than 100 children in a dozen countries through his sperm donation, calling it a “civic duty” for his approach to parenting, similar to that of fellow tech tycoon, X-ray and Tesla chief Elon Musk.
According to the latest estimates of Forbes magazine, Durov’s wealth is $15.5 billion. But Toncoin, the cryptocurrency he created, has fallen by more than 15% since his arrest was announced.
Telegram has long been in the sights of European judicial authorities, as they are accused of spreading conspiracy theories, sharing calls for murder, and hosting drug sales platforms. However, Durov insists that they respond to every request to remove content that calls for violence or murder.