Pavel Durov, the millionaire creator of Telegram persecuted by Russia and the West

Russian pavel durovThe creator of the encrypted messaging network with his brother TelegramThe social network’s excessive guarantees of privacy and anonymity, as well as Durov’s lack of cooperation with the authorities, have led to his detention on French soil on charges of being a participant in crimes such as drug trafficking, pedophilia and fraud.

For this very reason, Durov is also hated in his native Russia. Telegram has 85 million Russian users Despite several failed attempts by the government to block it and prevent it from continuing to be a communication tool for opponents of the regime. Vladimir Putin,

“Humanity needs a neutral platform like Telegram Respects privacy and freedom of the people (…) In fact, it doesn’t matter whether Telegram is used by the opposition or by the party in power. The rules are the same for all parties. This way, we are fair,” Durov said in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson last February.

This particular emphasis on specific security means that Telegram, which officially launched in 2013, is now almost nonexistent 1 billion monthly users (350,000 new customers sign up daily), making it a tool with global reach that is loved by its users and hated by various governments around the world.

From virtual library to Russian Facebook

Pavel Durov graduated from an elite high school in St. Petersburg, the same school where the famous mathematician Grigory Perelman studied, with the intention of becoming an “Internet totem”.

He entered the English Philology Faculty in the former tsarist capital. There he made a virtual library So that students can consult the works of other students (duov.com).

In 2006 he founded ContactRussian Facebook, which soon became the main social network in Russia, attracted the attention of the Putin-led Kremlin, which has always been suspicious of the Internet.

Despite the pressure, Durov Refused to block groups Who organised the largest anti-government protests since the collapse of the USSR in 2011, although he sold the platform to friends of the Kremlin (mail.ru) in 2014.

And the telegram arrived

“When did the idea to create Telegram come (…) Armed Police “They came to my house and tried to break in (…) Then, it occurred to me that it would not be a bad idea to create an application for exchanging messages with reliable encryption,” he told Carlson.

with that service Encrypted Messagingwhose encryption standard was created by his brother Nikolai Durov, made a leap to another dimension. The main difference with WhatsApp is that Telegram allows access to messages from different devices at the same time and the sharing of an unlimited number of photos, videos and files, which would eventually lead him into exile in Dubai, from where he controls his empire.

“The biggest advantage of Telegram is that it is a mix between a social network and a messaging platform. There is no other application that has channels, which are actually Mass media” Mijail Klimariov, director of the Internet Protection Society, told EFE.

A tool for the opposition

According to experts and people close to him, 39-year-old Durov has no defined ideology. But on several occasions he has denounced it Political pressure And also from giants like Google or Apple. That’s why it’s proud of its geopolitical independence and the fact that its apps are used by opposition groups from Hong Kong to Belarus.

“They never handed anybody over to the police,” Krymalyov said. For that reason, In 2018 the Kremlin decided to shut down TelegramBut massive protests in its defense changed their minds, and the network is now widely used by major state institutions.

However, he was recently accused of blocking the Voto Intelligent platform of a dead rival. alexey navalny,

Tool of terrorists, pedophiles and smugglers

Its privacy (implementation of secret chat that protects users’ privacy Special encryption and up to 200,000 people per group) has made Telegram a very attractive tool for criminals and extremists.

For that or another reason, the network has been blocked in countries like Iran, Indonesia or Thailand, and has faced restrictions Fines in SpainGermany, Brazil or the Netherlands.

According to the French judge, it is the lack of restraint and cooperation with authorities involved in cryptography that makes Durov an accomplice to the crimes. Drug trade till Child sexual abuse Or TerrorPoints to the French press.

Durov assured at the time that the fact that the perpetrators of violent incidents have used Telegram “should not serve as an excuse to organize a witch hunt or turn society into a concentration camp.”