Pavel Durov rose to the top

Telegram founder and advocate for free speech, Pavel Durov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on October 10, 1984, and was an entrepreneur who demonstrated early tips in computer science and founded several successful online social media platforms.

While studying at St. Petersburg State University, Doloff was inspired by the success of Facebook social media site and its founder Mark Zuckerberg and eventually launched the social media platform Vkontakte (VK) in 2006.

VK is a Facebook-like platform, but it is aimed at Russian speakers and is one of the world’s largest social media platforms.

The growth of the platform’s meteors ultimately attracted the attention of state regulators. State regulators have put pressure on the company to censor the platform and comply with government requests to provide user information.

Durov refused to comply with these requests due to his principled attitudes about principled speech, online expression, and user privacy, which expelled the founder of high-tech from a company that began in 2014.

However, the founder of Tech had already worked hard on his next venture before departing VK, the messaging platform that became Crypto’s well-known Telegram.

Related: Ton Society Celebrates Pavel Durov France leaves France as a victory for free speech

Pavel and his brother Nikolai Durov launch Telegram

Durov Brothers launched Telegram in 2013. Since then, the platform has gained over 950 million users worldwide for its technology that closes its message.

Telegram also offers robust features such as distributed web surfing, mini apps and gaming torrents.

The platform also has a symbiotic relationship with Open Network (TON). This is another blockchain network that has become a staple for messaging applications users.

According to Forbes, the founder of Telegram has a net worth of $17.1 billion, as of March 16, 2025, primarily through Telegram ownership.

In March 2024, entrepreneurs announced that Telegram was approaching profitability and were considering making its first public offering a public company.

Pavel Durov is known for advocating individual freedoms as reflected in Telegram’s approach. In a January 2025 post, Doloff wrote:

“We are proud that Telegram supports freedom of speech long before it becomes politically safe to do so. Our values ​​do not depend on the US election cycle.”

The libertarian spirit of Telegram’s founder, commitment to freedom of speech, and privacy ultimately placed entrepreneurs across the French government.

Pavel Duroff was arrested in France amid politically motivated censorship cries

Pavel Durov was arrested in France on August 24, 2024 due to lack of moderation in Telegram’s content, and later arrested by French prosecutors for accomplices of illegal activities and refusing to communicate with authorities.

Shortly after his arrest, the founder of Telegram posted bail and was released from custody on the condition that he remained in France during legal proceedings.

The arrests sparked a strong response from the crypto community, free speech triggered a strong response from around the world, a defender of free speech worldwide, who criticized the French government for its actions, expressed concerns about potential pressures on Pavel Durov, and expressed concerns that they would change Telegram’s policies and provide access to cryptographic keys.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of coordinating politically motivated arrests. The allegations denied by the French leaders have prompted more repulsion from the crypto community.

On March 15, Pavel Durov reportedly leaves France and heads for Dubai. Dubai has its headquarters at its headquarters after receiving permission from French law enforcement officials to leave the country.

However, it is unclear how long Durov will remain in Dubai as the global battle for free speech, privacy and autonomy continues.

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