Early Life
Pavel Durov was born on October 10, 1984, in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. He spent his early childhood in Italy where his father worked. Durov's family had a strong academic background, which influenced his upbringing. His father is a professor of philology at Saint Petersburg State University, and his mother also taught at the same institution. Durov attended the D.K. Faddeev Academic Gymnasium, excelling in languages and sciences, which fostered his early interest in computer programming.
Rise to Success
Durov founded VKontakte (VK) in 2006, inspired by Facebook. VK quickly became Russia's largest social network. However, Durov's refusal to cooperate with Russian authorities, including handing over user data, led to his departure from VK in 2014. He sold his stake in VK and left Russia. In 2013, Durov, along with his brother Nikolai, launched Telegram. Telegram gained global popularity as an encrypted messaging service, becoming a major competitor to WhatsApp. In 2017, Durov moved the Telegram headquarters to Dubai.
Key Business Strategies
Durov's key strategies include prioritizing user privacy and security through end-to-end encryption, which has differentiated Telegram from other messaging apps. Telegram also focuses on speed and cross-platform accessibility. Durov has maintained full ownership of Telegram.
Philanthropy
Durov is known to have donated $1 million to the Wikimedia Foundation in 2011.
