Pavel Durov is a Russian-born technology entrepreneur and the founder of Telegram, a widely used encrypted messaging service launched in 2013. Before Telegram, Durov co-founded VKontakte (VK), Russia’s largest social networking site, which he led until 2014. Known for his strong stance on privacy and freedom of speech, Durov has positioned Telegram as a platform resistant to censorship and surveillance, attracting hundreds of millions of users worldwide.