Nikolai Durov facts for kids

Nikolai Valeryevich Durov (Russian: Николай Валерьевич Дуров; born 21 November 1980) is a talented Russian programmer and mathematician. He is known for co-founding two very popular online platforms. He worked with his younger brother, Pavel Durov, to create the social media site VK. Later, they also launched the messaging app Telegram Messenger.

Early Life and Amazing Education

Nikolai Durov is the son of Valery Durov. His father was a professor of philology, which is the study of language and literature. Even when Nikolai was very young, he showed incredible intelligence. Reports say he could read as well as an adult by age three. By age eight, he was already solving complex math problems called cubic equations.

Nikolai was a superstar in international competitions. He won gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad three times (1996, 1997, and 1998). He also earned three silver medals and one gold medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics between 1995 and 1998.

While studying at Saint Petersburg State University, Nikolai was part of their computer programming team. With his friend Andrey Lopatin, his team won gold medals at the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals in both 2000 and 2001. This is a huge achievement in competitive programming!

Nikolai earned his first PhD (a very high university degree) in 2005 from Saint Petersburg State University. His special area of study was a complex type of math called "Arakelov Geometry." He then continued his studies at the University of Bonn in Germany. In 2007, he received a second PhD, focusing on a related area of math.

Career Highlights

Nikolai Durov has had an impressive career in both mathematics and technology.

Math Research

As a mathematician, Nikolai Durov has done advanced research. He developed new ideas in a field called "algebraic geometry." This area of math combines algebra with geometry to solve problems. His work helped create new ways to understand complex mathematical structures. He also worked as a senior researcher at the St. Petersburg Department of Steklov Mathematical Institute. This is a famous place for math research in Russia.

Creating Popular Apps

Nikolai played a key role in developing two major online platforms:

• VK: He was the lead developer for the VK team until 2013. VK is one of the largest social networking sites in Russia and Europe.
• Telegram: In 2013, Nikolai teamed up with his brother Pavel again. They created Telegram, a popular instant messaging service. Nikolai developed the special "MTProto protocol" that Telegram uses to keep messages secure and fast.
• TON: Many believe Nikolai also wrote the original plans for TON, which stands for "Telegram Open Network." This was a project to create a new kind of internet platform using blockchain technology.

See also

In Spanish: Nikolái Dúrov para niños