Biography to tell story behind Russian Telegram founder Pavel Durov | Russia

Technology visionary, Kremlin dissident, FSB agent, advocate of absolute freedom of expression, health guru. These are just some of the labels that fans and critics have attached to Pavel Durov over the past decade.

The Russian-born tech entrepreneur founded the Russian version of Facebook before creating the messaging app Telegram, launching a cryptocurrency ecosystem and amassing a multibillion-dollar fortune; All while clashing repeatedly with authorities in Russia and beyond.

But much of Durov’s true story and the logic that drives it still remains obscure.

A new biography aims to change that.

The Populist, written by independent Russian writer Nikolay Kononov, was published in St. Petersburg by the 41-year-old writer. It traces his rise from a schoolboy under the protection of science in St. Petersburg to the founder of Telegram, one of the world’s most influential communication platforms with more than a billion users.

Kononov tells book The product of a 14-year attempt to map Durov’s strategy and mindset, it draws on interviews with Durov himself and those who worked with him, as well as rivals and critics.

He said the book’s title refers to a theme in Durov’s life: his desire to directly address Telegram’s millions of users allowed him to bypass institutions, the press, and any system of representation.

“Durov is one of the first digital populists,” Kononov said in an interview, adding that “from the very beginning, as soon as he started making his digital products, he programmed them with the ability to write and communicate his ideas directly to his audience.”

Both VKontakte, Durov’s first venture, and Telegram occasionally posted messages from Durov outlining his libertarian worldview directly to all users, including non-participating users.

“He sees himself as a visionary and clearly wants to make his voice heard,” the author said.

This strategy helped uphold Durov’s core promise – almost absolute freedom of expression – even as Telegram became a go-to tool for dissidents, extremists, scammers and war propagandists.

If Durov’s public brand is built on libertarianism, Kononov says his private governing style points in the opposite direction: Power is concentrated in the hands of one man and there is little visible control.

“He is actually the only person at Telegram who makes all the product decisions,” Kononov said. “Marketing, public relations – it’s a one-man show.”

The portrait he paints is of a tech founder whose worldview has remained constant over the years, remaining comfortable in the ultra-liberal, anti-institutional, often misogynist and sometimes conspiratorial wing of the right.

“What surprised me most was that Durov had not changed or improved over the years that I had been interviewing him,” Kononov said.

Kononov writes that Durov was not an outlier, but part of a broader new wave of emperors (most evident in the United States) who combined technological dominance with an extreme sense of personal mythology and deep suspicion of government restrictions.

Like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Jeff Bezos, he has demonstrated a strong interest in the science of longevity as well as pronatalism, the belief that it is a social or civilizational duty to have as many children as possible.

Kononov says Durov does not drink or do drugs, regularly gives low-key health advice (often alongside photos of himself shirtless), and says he fathered dozens of children through sperm donation.

One of the book’s most striking chapters describes for the first time Durov’s tense early meeting with President Vladimir Putin, held behind closed doors in 2014.

Kononov writes that Durov described the encounter as a one-way conversation, in which the Kremlin leader scolded him for illegal content on Vkontakte and suggested Durov leave the country.

Under pressure from the authorities, Durov sold his shares in Vkontakte, left Russia and settled in Dubai, where he eventually founded Telegram.

However, Kononov argues that the clearest signs against Durov in recent years have come not from Russia but from France.

Durov, who also holds French citizenship, was detained in France in August last year and held for three days as part of an investigation into crimes linked to Telegram, including the distribution of child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions.

His detention came as a shock to the technology mogul. In interviews in Paris following his arrest, Durov described to Kononov a harsh and confusing ordeal – a constantly burning cell and little sleep – that shook a man who had spent years insulating himself from the reach of the state.

This also seems to have sharpened hostility towards the West. Kononov says that Durov has now framed Europe shifting towards “total digital control” and is gradually turning into conspiratorial rhetoric.

Recently, Durov appeared to endorse a conspiracy theory promoted by far-right blogger Candace Owens that suggested Paris was behind the murder of Charlie Kirk.

“What interests me about Durov is that, on the one hand, he clearly has a very high IQ,” Kononov said. “But he is also prone to conspiracy theories.”

But Kononov is adamant that Durov’s views should not be confused with official political affiliations.

One of the most persistent allegations surrounding Durov is that he is secretly collaborating with Russian security services.

However, Kononov said that during his investigation he found no evidence that Durov was working with or on behalf of the Russian state. “It has many flaws, but Telegram does not have the sin of serving as a backdoor for the FSB,” Kononov said.

Kononov argues that what Durov ultimately learned was the need to compromise with both Russian and Western officials when it served his interests and allowed Telegram to continue operating.

Kononov recalls Durov once telling him: “I never waste time on things that are unnecessary or that will not benefit me personally.” Kononov said this self-serving mentality ultimately ended his personal relationships.

About a year ago, the author asked Durov whether he saw a contradiction between Telegram’s highly centralized, almost authoritarian internal structure and its commitment to freedom of expression. After that Durov stopped responding.

“He immediately realized that this would not be a book to his liking,” Kononov said.