Medvedv, Dmitri life and biography

Dmitri 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 he 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.

On 8 May 2008, Dmitry Medvedev appointed Vladimir Putin Prime Minister of Russia. In September, the country was hit by the 2008 Russian financial crisis. Dmitry Medvedev attributed the decline in the Russian stock market to the impact of the liquidity crisis in the United States and contended that the crisis in Russia had little if anything to do with internal problems in its economy and government policies. He ordered the injection of large funds from the state budget into the markets to stabilize the situation.

In his first address to the Russian parliament on 5 November 2008, Medvedev proposed to change the Constitution of Russia in order to increase the terms of the President and State Duma from four to six and five years respectively.

On 10 March 2009, Medvedev signed the presidential decree to reform the civil service system between 2009-2013 as part of his drive against corruption. The main direction of reforms include establishing a new system to manage the civil service, introducing effective technology and modern methods of human resources operations, and increasing the efficiency and professionalism of civil servants.

Medvedev on May 8, 2009, proposed to the legislature and on June 2 signed into law an amendment whereby the chairperson of the Constitutional Court and his deputies would be proposed to the parliament by the president rather than elected by the judges, as was the case before.

In May 2009, Medvedev set up the Presidential Commission of the Russian Federation to Counter Attempts to Falsify History to the Detriment of Russia's Interests.

Medvedev has named technological innovation one of the key priorities of his presidency. In May, 2009, Medvedev established the Presidential Commission on Innovation, which he will personally chair every month. The commission comprises almost the entire Russian government and some of the best minds from academia and business. Medvedev has also said that giant state corporations will inevitably be privatized, and although the state had increased its role in the economy in recent years, this should remain a temporary move.

On August 7, 2009, Dmitry Medvedev instructed Prosecutor General Yury Chayka and Chief of the Audit Directorate of the Presidential Administration of Russia Konstantin Chuychenko to probe state corporations, a new highly privileged form of organizations earlier promoted by President Putin, to question their appropriateness.

Just like Prime Minister Putin few days earlier, on September 15 Medvedev announced that he might stand for presidency again in 2012, but stressed that he would not challenge the former and that they would have to find an agreement. During the same speech he approved of the 2004 abolition of direct popular elections of regional leaders, effectively in favor of their appointment by the Kremlin, and added that he didn't see a possibility of a return to direct elections even in 100 years.

In August 2009, Medvedev promised to break the near-monopoly of ruling party United Russia over the political system, stating that "New democratic times are beginning". On October 11, 2009, regional elections were won by United Russia with 66% of the vote. Medvedev stated that this proved the party's moral and legal right to run the regions.

Personal life

Medvedev is married and has a son named Ilya (born 1995). His wife, Svetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva, was both his childhood friend and school sweetheart. They married several years after their graduation from secondary school in 1982.

Medvedev is a devoted fan of English hard rock, listing Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and Deep Purple as his favorite bands. He is a collector of their original vinyl records and has previously said that he has collected all of the recordings of Deep Purple. As a youth, he was making copies of their records, although these bands were then on the official state-issued blacklist. In February 2008, Medvedev and Sergei Ivanov attended a Deep Purple concert in Moscow together. Medvedev also listens to the band, Linkin Park. His son Ilya, is also a fan of the group.

During a visit to Serbia, Medvedev received the Order of St. Sava for "his contribution to the unity of the world Orthodoxy and his love to the Serbian people", it is the highest award of the Serbian Orthodox church.

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