Pavel Durov is a Russian-born tech entrepreneur, billionaire and the founder of Telegram, the encrypted messaging app that has made him one of the most recognisable figures in global tech. He is once again under pressure from Russia while also drawing attention for saying he has fathered more than 100 children through sperm donations.
Durov built his reputation as a privacy-first founder willing to challenge governments over content moderation and access to user data. Telegram, which now has more than 1 billion users, has become central to political, military and social communication in Russia, Ukraine and beyond. That scale, and Telegram's encrypted, state-resistant structure, has made Durov a persistent target of government scrutiny.
