Dmitry Medvedev

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Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev
Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев
Image:MedvedevD.jpg
Dmitry Medvedev on Seliger (2007)
BornSeptember 14 1965 (1965-09-14) (age 44)
Leningrad, USSR
ResidenceMoscow, Russia
NationalityRussian
Other namesNickname within the Kremlin: The Great Vizier[1]
EducationPhD in private law, Leningrad State University, 1990
Employer* Russian government
* Gazprom
Occupation* Politician
* Manager
* Lawyer
Title* First Deputy Prime Minister (since 2005)
* Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom (since 2002)
Salary$82,714 (2005) (total declared income from all sources)[2]
Height5 feet, 4 inches
Political partyEndorsed by United Russia, but not formally a member[3]
Boards onGazprom
Religious stanceRussian Orthodox[4][5]
SpouseSvetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva née Linnik (m. 1982)
Childrenson: Ilya Dmitrievich Medvedev (b. 1996)
Parents* father: Anatoly Afanasyevich Medvedev (d. 2004), formerly Professor of Engineering at the Lensoviet Leningrad Institute of Technology
* mother: Yulia Veniaminovna Medvedev, formerly language instructor at the Herzen Pedagogical Institute, and later a museum guide
Website(Russian) Profile from Russian Government

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (Russian: Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев pronunciation (help·info); born September 14, 1965 in Leningrad), is a Russian politician, businessman and lawyer who is President Vladimir Putin's desired successor.

He was appointed first deputy prime minister of the Russian government on November 14, 2005. Formerly Vladimir Putin's chief of staff, he is also the Chairman of Gazprom's board of directors, a post he has held (for the second time) since 2000. On December 10, 2007, he was informally endorsed as a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections by the largest Russian political party, United Russia, and officially endorsed on December 17, 2007. Medevedev's candidacy is supported by incumbent president Vladimir Putin and pro-presidential parties.[6] A recent poll found over 63% of Russians support Medvedev in the upcoming elections.[7] A technocrat and political appointee, Medvedev has never held elective office.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Medvedev was born to a family of university teachers and raised in a proletarian suburb of Leningrad — Kupchino.[8]

He graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987 (together with Ilya Yeliseyev, Anton Ivanov, Nikolay Vinnichenko and Konstantin Chuychenko) and in 1990 got his PhD in private law from the same university. Anatoly Sobchak, an early democrat politician of 80's and 90's, was one of his professors, and Medvedev later participated in Sobchak's successful Saint Petersburg mayorial campaign.[9] In 1990 he worked in Leningrad Municipal Soviet of People's Deputies. Between 1991 and 1999 he worked as a docent at his old university, now renamed Saint Petersburg State University.[10] In 1991 - 1996 Medvedev also worked as a legal expert for the Committee for External Relations of the Saint Petersburg Mayor's Office under Vladimir Putin.

In November 1993, Medvedev became the legal affairs director of Ilim Pulp Enterprise, a St. Petersburg-based timber company. In 1998, he was elected a member of the board of directors of the Bratskiy LPK paper mill. He worked for Ilim Pulp until 1999.

[edit] Political career

In November of 1999 he became one of several St. Petersburgers brought by Vladimir Putin to top government positions in Moscow. In December of the same year he was appointed deputy head of the presidential staff.

Image:Medvedev and Bodman.jpg
Medvedev (right) meeting US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.

Dmitry Medvedev became one of the politicians closest to President Putin, and during the 2000 elections he was head of the presidential election campaign headquarters. From 2000 to 2001, Medvedev was chair of Gazprom's board of directors. He was then deputy chair from 2001 to 2002. In June of 2002, Medvedev became chair of Gazprom's board of directors for a second time. In October 2003, he replaced Alexander Voloshin as presidential chief of staff. In November 2005, he was appointed by President Vladimir Putin as First Deputy Prime Minister, First Deputy Chairman of the Council for Implementation of the Priority National Projects attached to the President of the Russian Federation, and Chairman of the Council's Presidium. A mild-mannered person, Dmitry Medvedev is considered to be a moderate liberal pragmatic, an able administrator and a loyalist of Putin.[11][12]

Following his appointment as First Deputy Prime Minister, many political observers expected him to be nominated as Putin's successor for the 2008 presidential elections. Sergey Ivanov, the other Deputy Prime Minister, was seen as his main rival. When Viktor Zubkov became Prime Minister in late Summer 2007, many observers also counted him as a possible successor to Putin. However, on December 10, 2007, President Putin announced that Medvedev is his preferred successor. Four parties supporting Putin also declared Medvedev to be their candidate to the post - United Russia, A Just Russia, Agrarian Party of Russia and Civilian Power.[13] United Russia held its party congress on December 17, 2007 where by secret ballot of the delegates, Medvedev was officially endorsed as their candidate in the 2008 presidential election.[14] He formally registered his candidacy with the Central Election Commission on December 20, 2007 and said he will step down as chairman of Gazprom, since under the current laws, the president is not permitted to hold another post.[15] Sources close to Gazprom and Medvedev have told the Vedomosti newspaper that Medvedev may be replaced by Putin at Gazprom.[16]

It has been long believed by political analysts that Putin's choice of a successor will coast to an easy election-day victory, as pre-election opinion polls have indicated that a substantial majority of potential voters will back Putin's chosen candidate for president.[17] In his first speech since he was endorsed, Medvedev announced that, as President, he would appoint Vladimir Putin to the post of prime minister to head the Russian government.[18] Although constitutionally barred from a third consecutive presidential term, such a role would allow Putin to continue as a national leader[19] (the constitution would also allow him to return to the presidency later if he so chose). Some analysts have been quick to point out that such a statement shows that Medvedev recognizes that he would only be a figurehead president.[20] Putin has pledged that he would accept the position of prime minister should Medvedev be elected president. Although Putin has pledged not to not change the distribution of authority between president and prime minister, many analysts are expecting a shift in the center of power from the presidency to the prime minister post should Putin assume the latter under a Medvedev presidency.[21]

[edit] Awards

In December 2005 Medvedev was named Person of the Year (Expert magazine) by Expert magazine, influential and respected Russian business weekly. He shared the title in 2005 with Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom.

[edit] Personal life

Dmitry Medvedev is married and has a son named Ilya (b. 1996). His wife, Svetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva née Linnik, was both his childhood friend and school sweetheart. They wed several years after their graduation from secondary school in 1982.[22] He has a first cousin who lives in the US.[23]

Medvedev is one of the authors of a textbook on civil law for universities first published in 1991 (the 6th edition of Civil Law. In 3 Volumes. was published in 2007) and which is regarded as "brilliant" by many civil law scholars.[24] He is the author of a textbook for universities entitled, Questions of Russia's National Development, first published in 2007, concerning the role of the Russian state in social policy and economic development. He is also the lead coauthor of a book of legal commentary entitled, A Commentary on the Federal Law "On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation", scheduled for publication in 2008. This work considers the Russian Federal law on the Civil Service[25], which went into effect on July 27, 2004, from multiple perspectives - scholarly, jurisprudential, practical, enforcement- and implementation-related.[26]

Medvedev has often represented himself as a devoted fan of hard rock, listing Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin as his favourite 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.[27][28] As a youth, he made endless copies of their songs, although these bands were then on the official state-issued blacklist.

Medvedev stands 5 feet 4 inches in height.[29]

Despite a busy schedule, he always reserves an hour each morning and again each evening to swim[28] and pump iron. He swims 1,500 meters (approximately 0.93 miles), twice a day. He also jogs, plays chess, and practices yoga. Among his hobbies are reading the works of Mikhail Bulgakov, which had been banned under Joseph Stalin, and following his hometown professional soccer team, FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.[30]

He keeps an aquarium in his office and cares for his fish himself.[31]

He is a fan of an Internet slang dialect common among Russian youth, Olbanian (Russian: олбанский язык, transliteration: olbansky yazyk), and has said he believes it should be studied in schools to promote greater literacy in the Internet and modern culture in Russia.[32][33][34][35] He has said he believes in the legitimacy of alternative languages used on the Internet.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Putin hints at 'heirs' in cabinet reshuffle, ISN Security Watch, November 16, 2005.
  2. ^ Trutnev Declares Highest Income from Rossiiskaya Gazeta, on TempletonThorp.com
  3. ^ Medvedev Offers Putin a New Job, The Moscow Times, December 12, 2007.
  4. ^ The three main religions in Russia support Medvedev for president Interfax, December 10, 2007.
  5. ^ Putin picks deputy premier as successor, Los Angeles Times, December 11, 2007.
  6. ^ Putin sees Medvedev as successor BBC News
  7. ^ Who is Dmitri Medvedev? Hindustan Times
  8. ^ Buckley, Neil (December 11, 2007). Medvedev's liberal outlook likely to cheer western states.. Financial Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
  9. ^ The Democratic Roots of Putin's Choice Washington Post, December 11, 2007
  10. ^ Levy, Clifford J.; p. A18
  11. ^ Special Report: Russia's Tectonic Shift Stratfor
  12. ^ After Putin, Who? Business Week
  13. ^ (Russian) Дмитрий Медведев выдвинут в президенты России Lenta.ru
  14. ^ United Russia endorses D Medvedev as candidate for presidency ITAR-TASS, December 17, 2007.
  15. ^ Medvedev Registers for Russian Presidency, Will Leave Gazprom,Bloomberg, December 20, 2007.
  16. ^ Putin may become Gazprom chairman, Reuters, December 21, 2007.
  17. ^ Putin Anoints Successor To Russian Presidency Washington Post, December 10, 2007.
  18. ^ Speech by Dmitri A. Medvedev, New York Times, December 11, 2007
  19. ^ Drive Starts to Make Putin 'National Leader' The Moscow Times, November 8, 2007
  20. ^ Medvedev: Putin should be Russia's prime minister USA Today, December 11, 2007
  21. ^ Putin seeks prime minister's post Associated Press, December 17, 2007.
  22. ^ (Russian) Из школы, где учился Дмитрий Медведев, похищены его фото Factnews.ru
  23. ^ [1], ZoomInfo.
  24. ^ Medvedev Gets Thumbs Up From Hometown School, The St. Petersburg Times, December 14, 2007.
  25. ^ (Russian) Законы РФ / Федеральный закон от 27 июля 2004 г. N 79-ФЗ "О государственной гражданской службе Российской Федерации" (с изменениями от 2 февраля 2006 г., 2 марта, 12 апреля, 1 декабря 2007 г.), Garant Database of Laws with Commentary.
  26. ^ (Russian) Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, Ozon.ru
  27. ^ Russian 'bear' who loves Black Sabbath set to succeed Putin RIA Novosti
  28. ^ a b Putin's Purple reign man Guardian Unlimited, December 10, 2007
  29. ^ (Russian) Найти преемника и обезвредить, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, December 18, 2007.
  30. ^ Nicholas II, FC Zenit, Black Sabbath - Medvedev's favorite things, ITAR-TASS, December 11, 2007.
  31. ^ Baby-faced Dmitry Medvedev keeps fish tank in his office and listens to Black Sabbath, Pravda, December 12, 2007.
  32. ^ A Soft-Spoken, 'Smart-Kid' Lawyer, The Moscow Times, November 2, 2007.
  33. ^ (Russian) Дмитрий Медведев: учите олбанский!, Lenta.ru, March 5, 2007.
  34. ^ (Russian) Превед, Медвед, Polit.ru, December 18, 2007.
  35. ^ Medvedev palatable to Russian liberals and western states, Financial Times, December 11, 2007.

[edit] Additional Sources

  • Levy, Clifford J. (Dec. 11, 2007) Putin Backs a Young Loyalist As Hic Choice to Follow Him. The New York Times. New York, New York
  • White, Gregory L.; Osborn, Andrew; Cullison, Alan (Dec. 11, 2007) Putin Chooses Young Loyalist As Successor. The Wall Street Journal, New York, New York.
  • Umland, Andreas (Dec. 17, 2007) The Two Towers of Future Russia: The Rise of Dmiry Medvedev and the Re-Configuration of Post-Soviet Politics. Russia Profile. Moscow. [2]

[edit] External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Dmitry Medvedev
Preceded by
Alexander Voloshin 		Chief of the Russian presidential administration
October 302003, – November 142005 		Succeeded by
Sergey Sobyanin
br:Dmitriy Medvyedyev

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