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Meet Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of Telegram

Durov’s conflicts with the Kremlin did not end with Vkontakte.


The protesters have the sign of Pavel Durov painted in the manner of a Catholic saint

Durov became a cult icon for anti-authoritarianism in the region.

Peter Kovalev/TASS via Getty Images



In 2018, Telegram was banned in Russia after Durov denied the Kremlin access to user data. In response to the ban, hundreds of people protested, some of whom held signs depicting Durov as a saint (pictured above). The app was reintroduced in Russia two years later.

Today, Telegram plays a major role in the war in Ukraine.

Durov promised in a March 2022 Telegram post that he would protect the data of Ukrainian users. Durov is of part Ukrainian descent, according to the post.

“When I defied (the Kremlin’s) demands, the stakes were high for me personally,” Durov wrote. “I’m for our users, no matter what. Their right to privacy is sacred.”

Durov also launched a cryptocurrency wallet called Fragment in 2002. Durov said the wallet “only took 5 weeks and 5 people, including me, to put together.”

Durov said about $50 million worth of usernames were purchased less than a month after Fragment’s launch.

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