Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev Full Name: Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev Alias: Dimon Compote Origin: Leningrad, USSR Occupation: Prime Minister of Russia (2012 - 2020) President of Russia (2008 - 2012) Deputy Chairman of the Security Council (2020 - present) Hobby: Insult westerners Drink Goals: Aid Vladimir Putin in his goals (succeeded) Remain in Power (failed) Crimes: Arms trafficking War crimes Corruption Embezzlement Propaganda Theft Xenophobia Persecution of Christians Terrorism Crimes against humanity Americophobia Francophobia Anglophobia Polonophobia Islamophobia Ukrainophobia Anti-Japanese sentiment Type of Villain: Jingoist Corrupt Delusional

“	Freedom is better than no freedom.	„
	~ Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (Russian: Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who currently serves as the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council. He previously served as Prime Minister of Russia from 2012 to 2020, and President of Russia from 2008 to 2012. He is also the current Chairman of United Russia, the ruling party of the Russian Federation.

Regarded as more liberal than his predecessor and later successor as president, Vladimir Putin (who was also prime minister during Medvedev's presidency), Medvedev's top agenda as president was a wide-ranging modernisation programme, aiming at modernising Russia's economy and society, and lessening the country's reliance on oil and gas. During Medvedev's tenure, the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty was signed by Russia and the United States, Russia emerged victorious in the Russo-Georgian War, and recovered from the Great Recession. Medvedev initiated a substantial law enforcement reform and launched an anti-corruption campaign, despite having been accused of corruption himself.

Medvedev has been repetedly accused of corruption, of using government funds and taxes to enrich himself and of deliberately lying to the public. He is also quite unpopular in his home country due to a number of political blunders he has made as both President and Prime Minister, with the public blaming him for failing living standards.

Biography

Medvedev was born into a middle-class family in suburban Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). He attended Leningrad State University (now St. Petersburg State University), receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1987 and a law degree in 1990. In 1990 he accepted a faculty position at the university and taught law there until 1999. In 1991 Medvedev joined the legal team of St. Petersburg’s newly elected mayor, Anatoly Sobchak, who also had brought future president Vladimir Putin into his administration. Medvedev and Putin worked together in the mayor’s office for the next five years.

When Sobchak’s term ended, Medvedev returned to academic life, and Putin moved to a position at the Kremlin. After Putin became acting president of Russia in December 1999, he made Medvedev his protégé. In 2000 Medvedev headed Putin’s presidential election campaign, and following Putin’s victory Medvedev was named first deputy chief of staff. Later that same year, Medvedev was appointed chairman of the state-owned natural-gas monopoly Gazprom. In 2003 he became Putin’s chief of staff, and two years later he was appointed to the newly created post of first deputy prime minister.

Throughout his service under Putin, Medvedev distinguished himself as an able administrator with an eye toward reform. His admiration of Western popular culture made some conservatives within the Kremlin uneasy, but much of this criticism was softened after Putin named Medvedev his heir apparent in December 2007. Medvedev responded by stating that Putin would serve as prime minister in his government—leading critics to wonder where executive power would actually reside. The central message of Medvedev’s subsequent presidential campaign was “Freedom is better than no freedom,” a remark that hinted at an openness to the West that was uncharacteristic of the Putin years. Medvedev won the March 2008 presidential election by a landslide. Although some outside observers criticized the contest as unfair, most agreed that Medvedev’s victory reflected the will of the majority of the Russian people. Medvedev took office on May 7, 2008. Within hours of his inauguration, he nominated Putin to be his prime minister, and Russia’s parliament confirmed the appointment the next day.

Medvedev had been in office for only three months when conflict erupted in neighbouring Georgia. As fighting intensified between the Georgian government and separatist forces in the breakaway region of South Ossetia, Russian troops were ordered across the border to support the rebels. Although Russia eventually withdrew from Georgia, it retained a military presence in both South Ossetia and the separatist region of Abkhazia. In 2009 Medvedev announced an end to major counterinsurgency operations in Chechnya, but militants remained active throughout the Caucasus. In March 2010 a pair of female suicide bombers killed dozens in the Moscow subway, and that July Medvedev signed a law expanding the powers of the Federal Security Service (the domestic successor of the KGB).

Although Medvedev and Putin continued to operate virtually in tandem as joint heads of government, as Medvedev’s presidential term progressed, he appeared to become more assertive about the need for modernization and government reform. Because this stance broke with Putin’s emphasis on tradition and stability, observers began to speculate about the possibility of Medvedev’s pursuing a reelection bid. Medvedev put such speculation to rest in September 2011 when he announced that he and Putin would, essentially, swap jobs. Medvedev’s final months in office were marred by a December 2011 parliamentary election that was rife with irregularities, to which voters responded with some of the largest protests since the fall of the Soviet Union. As demonstrations continued through the end of the year, the Medvedev administration presided over Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, completing a process that had begun 18 years earlier. In the March 2012 presidential contest, Putin was elected by a comfortable margin. The following month Putin stepped down as head of the ruling United Russia party, ceding leadership to Medvedev. Upon his inauguration as president, one of Putin’s first actions was to nominate Medvedev as prime minister, and Medvedev was confirmed in that role by the Duma on May 8, 2012. Medvedev served as prime minister of Russia between 2012 and 2020. Medvedev resigned along with the rest of the government on 15 January 2020 to allow the Russian President to make sweeping constitutional changes; he was succeeded by Mikhail Mishustin on 16 January 2020. On the same day, Vladimir Putin appointed him deputy chairman of the Security Council.

The restoration of Putin to the presidency brought about the end of Medvedev’s tentative liberalization and modernization program, and reforms that Medvedev had made during his term were promptly rolled back. Defamation was once again criminalized, and the direct election of regional governors—a political concession Medvedev had made to the protest movement—was officially undone by Putin in April 2013. Putin suspended any such engagement with pro-democracy activists, and he instituted a harsh crackdown on dissent. As Putin solidified his control of Russian politics, business, and media, Medvedev’s public role in the administration receded.

Trivia

• Dimitry Medvedev is an avid fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, and Pink Floyd.