Durov Nikolay Valeryevich

Durov Nikolay Valeryevich

Nikolai Durov was born on November 21, 1980.

Education

He studied at the Academic Gymnasium named after D.K. Fadeev. He won the International Mathematical Olympiad three times - in 1996, 1997 and 1998. And in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 he received one gold and three silver medals at the International Olympiad in Computer Science. Nikolai received his first Ph.D. at St. Petersburg State University in 2005, defending a dissertation on the topic "Method of calculating the Galois group of polynomials with rational coefficients." In 2007, he received another Ph.D. (PhD), defending the work "A New Approach to Arakelov Geometry" at the University of Bonn.

Biography

2006-2024

Pavel Durov's older brother Nikolai, as it became known at the end of August 2024, has long played one of the key roles in the development of the VKontakte social network and the Telegram messenger, acting as technical director. At the same time, Nikolai leads the most non-public lifestyle.

Since 2006, Nikolai helped Pavel with the development of the VKontakte platform, and in 2013 he created his own system. enciphering Initially, the brothers used it to communicate with each other, and later it was integrated into Telegram (MTProto protocol). In addition, Nikolai is considered the author of the platform TON (Telegram Open Network) on the basis of which he was created. As cryptocurrency Toncoin part of the Telegram project, Nikolai and his team of programmers were responsible for technical implementation, messenger while Pavel was more involved in the user interface of the platform and its functions. RBC calls Nikolai Durov "the gray cardinal of Telegram."

Nikolai's former friend and one of the key employees of the Durov team, Anton Rosenberg, characterizes Nikolai as a typical mathematical genius - "a quiet nerd who looks like the hero of the Big Bang Theory series. Despite his intellect, in everyday life, according to him, Durov's brother remained a child, lived under the full control of his mother.

Pavel Durov calls his older brother "a real genius." Acquaintances from school and university times compare Nikolai with the Russian scientist Grigory Perelman, noting "powerful intelligence." By August 2024, Nikolai is a senior researcher at the St. Petersburg branch of the Mathematical Institute. V.A. Steklov RAS. On August 28, 2024, it became known that he was wanted in France.^[1]

The Durov brothers were accused of "aiding in the possession, distribution, offering or provision of pornographic images of minors as part of an organized group."

Family

Brother - Pavel Durov

Notes