Meet Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of Telegram

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

Protesters hold up a placard of Pavel Durov painted in the style of a Catholic saint — Durov has become a cult icon of 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 holding signs depicting Durov as a saint (pictured above). The app was reinstated in Russia two years later.

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

In March 2022, in a Telegram post, Durov pledged to protect the data of Ukrainian users. According to the post, Durov is of part Ukrainian descent.

“When I defied the (Kremlin) demands, the stakes were high for me personally,” Durov wrote. “I stand up 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 “took only 5 weeks and 5 people, including me, to set up.”

Durov said that usernames worth about $50 million were purchased less than a month after Fragment launched.