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Published · transcript-backed

Lex Fridman: belief

1 Oct 2025 Lex Fridman Podcast #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature

“After having spent many days with you, I learned of something that you’ve never talked about at the time, have not talked about to this day, that there was an assassination attempt on you using what appears to be poisoning in 2018.”

— Lex Fridman

Source trail

Everything needed to verify it.

Speaker
Lex Fridman
Attribution
Verified speaker
Claim type
belief
Recorded
1 Oct 2025
Publisher
Lex Fridman Podcast

Transcript context

…People find a way around. That’s ingenious. That’s really great to hear. I have to ask you about this. After having spent many days with you, I learned of something that you’ve never talked about at the time, have not talked about to this day, that there was an assassination attempt on you using what appears to be poisoning in 2018. I think to me, it showed this seriousness of this fight to uphold the freedom of speech for everyone, for all people of earth that you’re doing. I have to say it would mean a lot to me if you tell me this story. Well, this is something I never talked about publicly because I didn’t want people to freak out particularly at the time, it was spring 2018. We were trying to raise funds for TON, a blockchain project working with all kinds of VCs and investors. In the meantime, we had a couple of countries trying to ban Telegram. So it wasn’t exactly the best moment for me to start sharing anything related to my personal health. But that was something that is hard to forget. I never fall ill. I believe I have perfect health. I very rarely have headaches or bad cough. I don’t take pills because I don’t have to take pills. And that was the only instant in my life when I think I was dying. I came back home, opened the door of my townhouse, the place I rented. I had this weird neighbor and he left something for me there around the door. And one hour after when I was already in my bed … So I was living alone. I felt very bad. I felt pain all over my body. I tried to get up and go to the bathroom, but while I was going there, I felt that functions of my body started to switch off. First the eyesight and hearing, then I had difficulty breathing. Everything accompanied by very acute pain. Heart, stomach, all blood vessels. It’s a difficult thing to explain, but one thing I was certain about is, yeah, this is it.…

Stored transcript either side of the excerpt. The highlighted words are the published quote; the surrounding text is unedited source, never generated.

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