Nikolai Durov: a genius who wants to be silenced

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Why France is looking for Pavel Durov.

Nikolai Durov, born on November 21, 1980 in Leningrad, is one of the most mysterious and talented figures in the world of modern technology. The older brother of the famous entrepreneur Pavel Durov, Nikolay played a key role in the creation and development of such successful projects as VKontakte and Telegram.

Early life and education​

From early childhood, Nikolai showed exceptional abilities in mathematics. According to his brother Pavel, at the age of three, Nikolai read like an adult, and at the age of eight he solved cubic equations. At the age of ten, he was shown on Italian television as a child prodigy capable of solving complex mathematical problems in real time.

Nikolai's education was related to mathematics and computer science:

• In high school, he won the International Mathematical Olympiad three times (1996, 1997, 1998).
• He repeatedly became a prize-winner of the International Olympiad in Informatics.
• In 2000, as a second-year student at the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of St. Petersburg State University, he won the prestigious ACM ICPC programming championship as part of the team.

Scientific activity​

Nikolay Durov continued his education and scientific career:

• In 2005, he defended his dissertation at St. Petersburg State University on the topic "A New Approach to Arakelov's Geometry".
• In 2007, he defended his second dissertation at the University of Bonn on the topic "Arakelov's singular geometry".
• He worked at the Max Planck Mathematical Institute in Germany.
• He was a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Algebra and Number Theory at the St. Petersburg Branch of the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Careers in Technology​

VKontakte​

In the early 2000s, Nikolai joined his brother Pavel in creating the social network VKontakte:

• He took the role of technical director of the project.
• He developed an architecture that ensured the stability and scalability of the network.
• According to his own words, at the initial stage, he helped with general advice and was the first system administrator of the company.
• Later, together with Andrey Lopatin, he developed specialized data storage systems.

Telegram​

After leaving VKontakte in 2014, the Durov brothers focused on the development of the Telegram messenger:

• Nikolay developed the MTProto protocol, which provided a high degree of protection for user data and the speed of message transfer.
• Created the basic principles of encryption used in Telegram so far.
• He participated in the development of the TON blockchain project in 2018.

Personal life and views​

• Nikolai is known for his closeness and rarely gives comments to the media.
• According to sources, he adheres to "ultra-liberal views."
• On his avatar on VKontakte, he has been using a photo of the Ukrainian anarchist and revolutionary Nestor Makhno since 2013.

Legal issues​

In August 2024, it became known that the French authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Nikolai Durov along with his brother Pavel. The warrants were issued in March of the same year as part of a case involving allegations of insufficient content moderation on Telegram.

Citizenship​

According to open sources, Nikolai Durov has citizenship of several countries:

• Russia
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Presumably Latvia (not officially confirmed)

Despite all his achievements and contributions to the development of modern technology, Nikolai Durov remains a mysterious figure, preferring to work behind the scenes and avoid publicity. His unique combination of mathematical genius and technological innovation continues to have a significant impact on the development of digital communications on a global scale.

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