[News Figures] Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Urgently Arrested

Russia's Largest SNS VK and Telegram Founding
Telegram Launched During Exile Avoiding Russian Government
Claims of Biological Fatherhood by Over 100 People in 12 Countries

On the 24th (local time) around 8 p.m., ‘Pavel Durov’ (39), who was urgently arrested at Le Bourget Airport on the outskirts of Paris, France, is the founder and CEO of Telegram. Telegram is a mobile messaging platform used by over 900 million people worldwide. Durov is reportedly suspected of neglecting to prevent Telegram from being exploited for various crimes such as drug trafficking and child sexual abuse.

Telegram and VKontakte (VK) founder Pavel Durov
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Pavel Durov was born on October 10, 1984, in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia). His father, Valery Durov, was a renowned Latin scholar and a linguistics professor at Saint Petersburg State University, but mainly worked in Italy. Durov spent most of his childhood in Italy following his father. He returned to Russia in 2001 and enrolled at Saint Petersburg State University, where he earned a degree in linguistics.

In 2006, inspired by Facebook in the United States, Durov co-founded the social networking service (SNS) 'VKontakte (VK)' with his older brother Nikolai Durov. Known as the ‘Facebook of Russia,’ VK grew into the largest SNS in Russia and Eastern Europe. According to Mediascope’s media user survey, as of April 2023, VK led with a daily average reach of 43%. Telegram followed with 42%, TikTok 26%, Odnoklassniki 17%, Instagram 6%, and Facebook 1%. A higher daily average reach indicates more users interacting with the platform.

He was dismissed as CEO of VK in April 2014. Durov claimed he left Russia after VK was effectively taken over by allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The incident began when the Russian government demanded that Durov delete VK pages of anti-Putin protesters and provide personal information. In February 2013, Durov exposed this government cooperation request on his VK page and fled to Germany five days later to avoid retaliation. Eventually, the Russian government stripped Durov of VK’s management rights by placing the pro-government Russian internet service company Mail.Ru in charge.

Mobile messenger service Telegram
Photo by Yonhap News

Telegram is a messenger service launched by Durov in August 2013 during his exile. The core of Telegram’s service is encrypting conversations between users to completely block third-party interception. It is impossible to provide any personal information requested by governments. Telegram is currently headquartered in Dubai. Emphasizing freedom of expression and anonymity, it has secured over 900 million users worldwide. Its strong security is also why Korean users turn to Telegram as an alternative to KakaoTalk.

In March, Durov told the UK’s Financial Times (FT) that “the company is expected to turn profitable this year or next” and that the funds raised through an initial public offering (IPO) would be used to maintain the company’s independence. He said, “To maintain independence, we need to generate revenue,” adding, “We introduced advertising and paid services two years ago and are considering an IPO in the same context.” However, Durov only stated that “various options are being reviewed” regarding the timing and location of the listing.

Meanwhile, Durov recently made headlines by revealing that he donated his sperm to dozens of couples in 12 countries. He confessed that over 100 children have been born from his high-quality sperm donations. He also said, “I want to make the DNA open source so that my biological children can more easily find each other.”