# #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast/482-pavel-durov-telegram-freedom-censorship-money-power-human-nature
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast/482-pavel-durov-telegram-freedom-censorship-money-power-human-nature.md
Podcast: [Lex Fridman Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast)
Published: 2025-10-01T01:40:10+00:00
Episode link: https://lexfridman.com/pavel-durov/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pavel-durov
Audio file: https://media.blubrry.com/takeituneasy/content.blubrry.com/takeituneasy/lex_ai_pavel_durov.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/lex-fridman-podcast/episodes/482-pavel-durov-telegram-freedom-censorship-money-power-human-nature
Duration seconds: 16957

## Resource

Pavel Durov is the founder and CEO of Telegram. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep482-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/pavel-durov-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Pavel’s Telegram: https://t.me/durov Pavel’s X: https://x.com/durov Telegram: https://telegram.org/ Telegram Contests: https://contest.com/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Miro: Online collaborative whiteboard platform. Go to https://miro.com/ UPLIFT Desk: Standing desks and office ergonomics. Go to https://upliftdesk.com/lex Fin: AI agent for customer service. Go to https://fin.ai/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (02:46) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (11:29) – Philosophy of freedom (14:37) – No alcohol (22:42) – No phone (28:38) – Discipline (49:50) – Telegram: Lean philosophy, privacy, and geopolitics (1:05:12) – Arrest in France (1:21:23) – Romanian elections (1:32:18) – Power and corruption (1:41:50) – Intense education (1:53:51) – Nikolai Durov (1:58:19) – Programming and video games (2:02:33) – VK origins & engineering (2:19:46) – Hiring a great team (2:29:02) – Telegram engineerin…

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## Transcript

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