Russia's 'second man': Who is Dmitry Medvedev?
“Medved” means “bear” in Russian. Medvedev, who was elected as the third President of the Russian Federation in 2008 and can be considered as young and "more civil" than the previous two leaders, was thought to be a liberal who could tame the "Russian bear". But...
Dmitriy Anatolyevich Medvedev was born on September 14, 1965, in Leningrad (present-day St. Petersburg). His father, Anatoliy, was a chemist at the Leningrad Institute of Technology, and his mother, Yuliya, was a linguist. Dmitriy was the only child of a middle-class intellectual family. There are allegations that he was Jewish on his mother's side. He states that he was raised faithful and happy. His primary school teacher said, “He was a determined child, he devoted all his time to his lessons. He rarely played with other children, looked older than his age,” said Medvedev, and spent his youth doing volunteer work such as street cleaning and picking potatoes from the fields. Two things he dreamed about when he was younger were Pink Floyd's album "The Wall" and jeans.
Medvedev, who started law school at Leningrad State University in 1982, had a love affair with his current wife, Svetlana Linnik, from his early teens.
Between 1991 and 1996, he was engaged in the management of commercial and real estate relations of the Municipality of Saint Petersburg with foreign companies. He was Vladimir Putin's closest collaborator during this period.
"I've known him for 17 years, I have unshakable confidence," Putin said in 2007 when promoting Medvedev as a presidential candidate. The acquaintance of the duo, whom The Guardian likened to "Batman and Robin", began in St Petersburg.
Quickly climbed the steps
Medvedev, who climbed the career ladder under Putin, became the Russian president's representative on the national bank council in October 2002. After this duty, he was appointed as the head of the Kremlin administration on October 30, 2003. Continuing his career in the state, Medvedev was appointed as a member of the Russian security council in April 2004.
Medvedev, one of Putin's closest figures, served as the first deputy prime minister in the Mihail Fradkov government from November 14, 2005, until May 7, 2008, when he assumed the presidency.
On 10 December 2007, just after Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-term presidency, he was nominated by United Russia under Vladimir Putin's leadership as a candidate for President of Russia. On March 2, 2008, he was elected President of Russia with 70% of the votes.
The most important event during Medvedev's presidency was Russia's war with Georgia. In August 2008, Medvedev plunged his country into war with Georgia for intervening in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, supported by Moscow. While Moscow continued to hold thousands of troops in these areas after the war, Tbilisi defined them as 'areas under Russian occupation.
During the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, Medvedev approved the spending of 40 billion dollars to prevent the banks in the country from failing, and 50 billion dollars to stimulate the economy. On the other hand, he ran anti-corruption campaigns during his tenure.
In his speech at the United Russia Party Congress in September 2011, Medvedev nominated Prime Minister Putin for the 2012 presidential election. Putin also said that in the parliamentary elections held at the end of 2011, Medvedev should be a candidate for prime minister.
He was appointed as the Prime Minister of Russia on May 8, 2012, by Vladimir Putin, who was re-elected President of Russia on May 7, 2012.
He resigned from his position as Prime Minister on January 15, 2020. In his resignation statement, Medvedev stated that radical changes will be made in the Russian Constitution and that there will be a change in the balance of power consisting of the legislative, executive, and judiciary. used.
Medvedev has been serving as vice-chairman of the Russian Security Council as of 2022.
Medvedev met his wife at school at the age of 14 and married in 1993. He has a son, Ilya Dmitrevich Medvedev, from this marriage.
Medvedev has been a fan of British hard rock since his teenage years; Among his favorite bands are Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple. He collects the original records of these groups. He does not neglect daily swimming, walking, and yoga. His favorite authors include Mikhail Bulgakov, Erich Maria Remarque, and J. K. Rowling, author of the "Harry Potter" series.