Dmitri Anatolyevich Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev was redirected to this article. For other namesake see Dmitri Medvedev (disambiguation) .

Dmitry Medvedev (2016)

Dmitri Anatoljewitsch Medvedev ( Russian Дми́трий Анато́льевич Медве́дев pronunciation ^{? / I} , scientific transliteration Dmitrij Anatol'evič Medvedev ; born September 14, 1965 in Leningrad ) is a Russian politician . He was President of Russia from 2008 to 2012 and Prime Minister of the Russian Federation from May 8, 2012 to January 16, 2020 . Medvedev has also been chairman of the United Russia party since May 2012 and deputy head of the Security Council since January 2020 .

On November 14, 2005, President Vladimir Putin appointed him First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and, two years later, on December 10, 2007, was proposed by two leading parliamentary parties to succeed him as President of the Russian Federation. On March 2, 2008, Medvedev was elected President and successor to Vladimir Putin. Medvedev's official inauguration took place on May 7, 2008, the day Putin's term of office ended.

Putin and Medvedev already worked together in the city administration of Saint Petersburg in the first half of the 1990s. Putin brought him to the presidential administration in Moscow in the late 1990s . Since then, Medvedev has risen to become one of the most important politicians in Russia as its head and chairman of the supervisory board of the leading Russian natural gas company Gazprom , but remained largely unknown to a broader public until he joined the government in 2005.

On January 15, 2020, Medvedev announced the resignation of his government after President Putin announced that he would seek constitutional amendments, which observers linked with Putin's end of office in 2024.

biography

Origin and family

Dmitry Medvedev at the age of two

Medvedev grew up as an only child in a middle class family in the new development area of ​​the Leningrad suburb of Kuptschino ( Купчино ). His father, Anatoly Afanassjewitsch Medvedev († 2004), was a professor of mechanical engineering at the Leningrad Technological Institute (LTI) , his mother Yulia Weniaminovna Shaposhnikova lecturer in European languages ​​at the Russian State Pedagogical AI Heart University . After her retirement, she worked as a museum guide until shortly before her son's presidency.

Medvedev has been married to Svetlana Medvedeva (born Linnik, * 1965) since 1993 , with whom he has a son. Svetlana Medvedeva is the holder of the Order of Women of the Russian Orthodox Church, Rev. Eufrosinia of Moscow , which is awarded to outstanding Russian women. She currently serves as the head of the Board of Trustees of the Spiritual and Moral Culture of the Rising Generation of Russia program , founded with the blessing of Patriarch Alexius II .

Studies, teaching, publications

Medvedev studied law at the Leningrad State University during the Soviet era . In 1987 he passed his exams, received his doctorate in civil law in 1990 and initially embarked on a university career. Until 1999 he taught at the law school in his hometown. In addition, in the first half of the 1990s, he advised the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Petersburg Mayor's Office, which was headed by the later President Vladimir Putin.

In 1991, Medvedev was co-author of the first post-communist textbook on civil law , the 6th edition of which was published in 2007. In 2007 he published a book for students under the title Voprosy nazionalnogo raswitija Rossii (in English: Questions of the National Development of Russia ) about the role of the Russian state in economic and social policy.

Change to Moscow

Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin on March 27, 2000

When Putin was appointed Prime Minister by Boris Yeltsin in July 1999, Medvedev took over the post of Deputy Head of the Moscow Government.

After Putin took over the presidency in January 2000, Medvedev became deputy head of the presidential administration and headed Putin's campaign staff in the presidential campaign in early 2000.

In June 2000, he was promoted to First Deputy Head of Presidential Administration. He became responsible for Putin's day-to-day planning and for coordinating the government and the presidential administration. In 2001, Putin entrusted him with the implementation of public service reform. On October 30, 2003 he became head of the presidential administration.

Activity on the Gazprom Supervisory Board

In addition to his work in the presidential administration, Medvedev has been a member of the supervisory board of the leading Russian natural gas company Gazprom , in which the Russian state has a stake, since June 2000 . From June 2002 to June 2008 he was Chairman of the Gazprom Supervisory Board.

In this function , disputes arose in 2004/2007 between Medvedev and the deputy head of the presidential administration, Igor Sechin , who is also the chairman of the supervisory board of the state-owned oil company Rosneft . Gazprom wanted to take over Yuganskneftegas, the main oil production company of the Yukos group, in the course of the smashing of the Yukos oil company owned by oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky , in order to take an important step on the way from a natural gas company to a broadly diversified energy company. Eventually, however, Rosneft received Yuganskneftegas and was able to rise from a comparatively small to one of the leading oil producers. However, a little later in the summer of 2005, Gazprom came much closer to its goal by purchasing the oil company Sibneft from oligarch Roman Abramovich . In this way, Medvedev played a leading role in the “de-privatization” of the Russian energy industry.

First Vice Prime Minister 2005–2008

Medvedev with Vladimir Putin in April 2008 (here: at an Easter service in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior )

On November 14, 2005, President Putin replaced Medvedev as head of the presidential administration and appointed him First Deputy Prime Minister. In his new office, Putin wanted Medvedev to be responsible in particular for reforms in the health and education systems, in the housing sector and in agriculture. Medvedev, along with Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov , had been traded for some time as a possible successor to Putin, who , according to the constitution, was not allowed to run for a third consecutive term in the presidential elections in March 2008 . Medvedev is considered a leading representative of the Group of "liberals" in the Kremlin , often in some contrast to the siloviki is seen designated representatives of the interests of intelligence, prosecutors, military and police.

2007 presidential candidacy

On December 10, 2007, Medvedev was nominated as a presidential candidate by four parties (in addition to the Kremlin-affiliated “ United Russia ” party , the Agrarian Party , “ Just Russia ” and the liberal citizenship ). This candidacy was explicitly supported by Vladimir Putin . On December 17, Medvedev was officially confirmed as a presidential candidate by the United Russia party at their convention.

Russian President (2008–2012)

In the elections on March 2, 2008 he was elected President of Russia and sworn in on May 7. The president has a significant influence on both the government and the composition of parliament in the Russian political system .

Dmitri Medvedev on a state visit to Switzerland, September 2009

In his first few months in office, he prevented Putin from tightening the media law and committed himself to greater efforts in environmental protection. Observers saw the dismissal of the Chief of Staff, Yuri Balujewski , as an effort to strengthen political control over the armed forces and to press ahead with the necessary reforms.

In early August 2008, in response to the Georgian attack on South Ossetia , Medvedev launched a six-day military operation against Georgia in both South Ossetia and the Georgian heartland. A few weeks later he announced the Russian recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia . The West reacted to his actions with harsh criticism.

On July 6, 2009, he and US President Barack Obama signed a successor to the 1991 START agreement. This further reduced the nuclear arsenals of the two states.

In the summer of 2010 there were devastating forest and peat fires in Russia . The government initially downplayed their extent, which according to opinion polls, many Russians resented their government. Medvedev himself spoke of $ 33 billion in damage that corruption inflicts on the state every year.

Increasingly, the question was raised whether the Russian system of government would have to be reformed in order to better cope with the country's problems. Medvedev refused in September 2010; a transformation of Russia into a parliamentary democracy would be a disaster for his country; a strong parliamentary system is not suitable for Russia.

He rejected the model like in Germany - with a strong government. Medvedev reiterated his goal of making Russia a modern state with free people. “A person who is intimidated, isolated and who fears the state, the police and competitors cannot be a modernizer. Only a free person can do that. "

In the Forbes list of the most powerful people in the world, Dmitry Medvedev was ranked 59th in November 2011.

Numerous hopes in the West cherished or expressed in Medvedev remained unfulfilled. He decided not to run for a second term. In 2011 the joke circulated: “The Kremlin is split into two camps between Putin and Medvedev. The only question is which camp will Medvedev himself join ... "

Russian Prime Minister (2012-2020)

At the United Russia Congress on September 24, 2011, Medvedev proposed his predecessor Putin as his successor for the 2012 presidential election , stating:

“This is a deeply considered decision that we have discussed since our fellowship began. The fact that we did not announce this earlier is a question of political expediency. "

- Medvedev : Speech at the Congress of the United Russia Party, September 24, 2011

On May 8, 2012, Medvedev was elected Prime Minister by the Duma with a large majority.

Apparently referring to the threatening situation in Syria , Medvedev spoke out in favor of respecting the sovereignty of states shortly before his departure for the G8 summit in Camp David on May 17, 2012 in Saint Petersburg . Hasty war missions in foreign countries would pose the risk that radical forces would come to power. Military operations and sanctions bypassing the United Nations would not improve the situation in the world. Actions that undermine state sovereignty contradict the principles of the UN Charter and are dangerous. They "can end with a real regional war and even ... with the use of nuclear weapons ."

On May 21, Medvedev announced his new cabinet and explained his government's goals to ministers. The next day he joined the United Russia party. On May 26, 2012, Dmitry Medvedev was elected chairman of the party at the suggestion of Vladimir Putin.

At the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Army in World War II on May 9, 2015, he was absent from the official gallery.

On his 50th birthday he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland 1st Class.

In December 2016, the Minister for Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev was arrested on apparently fabricated charges. Medvedev called the incident “incomparable” when describing the loss to his government, which the Moscow Times described as already “demoralized”.

On January 15, 2020, Medvedev announced the resignation of his government after President Putin announced that he would seek constitutional amendments, which observers linked with Putin's end of office in 2024; so the prime minister should get more power at the expense of the president, a change that would be tailored to a prime minister Putin.

Medvedev was appointed deputy chief of the Security Council on the same day , but according to the president the government should remain in office until the successor to the government was clarified. Putin then proposed Mikhail Mishustin as the new Prime Minister, who was confirmed by the House of Commons on January 16 without a dissenting vote.

Private life

Dmitri Medvedev with his wife Svetlana Medvedeva

Medvedev and his wife Svetlana have a son named Ilja (* August 1995). Medvedev is a fan of the Zenit St. Petersburg football club and was the chairman of a Moscow VIP fan club of this club. He describes himself as a rock music fan and names Deep Purple , Black Sabbath , Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin as favorite bands.

Medvedev owns two apartments in Moscow and one in his hometown of Saint Petersburg. A report by an anti-corruption foundation also made it known in 2016 that the Medvedev family also owns the Milowka estate , for the purchase and renovation of which around 400 million euros were diverted from the Russian natural gas business.

Dmitri Medvedev's private fortune has also included a 30 million euro superyacht since 2010. In addition, Medvedev uses several properties, which supposedly belong to charitable foundations with no apparent activity.

Dmitri Medvedev was an atheist in his youth , but was baptized by the Russian Orthodox Church at the age of 23 . In an interview, Medvedev said that professing his faith fundamentally changed his life.

Protests

The Milkowa residence with three helipads

In March 2017 there were mass demonstrations across Russia. a. against Dmitry Medvedev, which the opposition politician, lawyer and blogger Alexei Navalny had called for. Before that he published the 50-minute video contribution " He's not a Dimon for you " on the Internet, in which the prime minister's secret luxury life was shown and he was accused of corruption. Medvedev denied these allegations and described them as "nonsense". Rubber ducks became a symbol of corruption, alluding to the duck house in the Milowka estate. A large rubber duck on public display could still lead to an arrest in February 2018.

Quotes

“I remind you that Russia is not only a Christian but also an Islamic country and we live in peace with our Islamic brothers who have lived on the territory of Russia for many centuries. This coexistence was absolutely normal and calm. "

- Dmitri Anatoljewitsch Medvedev : Handelsblatt. February 12, 2016, pp. 58/59

See also

• Government of the Russian Federation

literature

• Hans-Henning Schröder: Squad castling in the Kremlin. In: Russia Analyzes. November 18, 2005.
• Marc Oprach: Dmitri Medvedev - President on call or equal successor to Putin? In: International information from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. 02/2008, pp. 6-30. ( kas.de ).
• Marc Oprach: Dmitri Medvedev plays for time - Russia and the US missile defense. In: Analyzes of Russia. No. 167, pp. 10-11 ( laender-analysen.de PDF).

Web links

Commons : Dmitry Medvedev  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

 Wikinews: Dmitry Medvedev  - on the news

• Literature by and about Dmitri Anatoljewitsch Medvedev in the catalog of the German National Library
• Personal Page (Russian)
• Biography in the internet newspaper "Russland-Aktuell" (as of 2012)
• Short biography and press reviews on Dmitri Medvedev's Russia analyzes No. 153, December 2007 (PDF)
• Russia under Presidents Putin and Medvedev (1999–2012) Dossier from the Federal Agency for Civic Education

Individual evidence

1. ^ ZEIT ONLINE: Russia: Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev resigns . In: The time . January 15, 2020, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed January 15, 2020]).
2. ↑ DPA: Medvedev sworn in as the new president , May 7, 2008, accessed May 7, 2008
3. ↑ Wse ostajutsja na mestach , Rossijskaja Gazeta No. 4603, March 4, 2008
4. ↑ After Putin's speech, Russia's government resigns as a whole , Welt , January 15, 2020
5. ^ Neil Buckley: Medvedev's liberal outlook likely to cheer western states . . Financial Times . December 11, 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
6. ↑ Шапошников Вениамин Сергеевич, рядовой: Информация из картотеки :: ОБД Мемориал. Retrieved April 25, 2019 (Russian). 
7. ↑ Приоритетные национальные проекты / Стенограммы / Стенограмма беседы ... July 6, 2013, accessed April 25, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Book Description on eastview.com
9. ↑ ^{a b} Elke Windisch : Who leads Russia? In: Der Tagesspiegel , August 15, 2010.
10. ↑ bbc.co.uk : Putin sees Medvedev as successor , in English, accessed December 10, 2007
11. ↑ tagesanzeiger.ch ( Memento from September 15, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
12. ↑ Medvedev overturns stricter media law ( Memento of December 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
13. ↑ Super Putin: Do Russians Really Love Their President? , Newsweek, February 7, 2018
14. ↑ Medvedev calls parliamentary democracy a "catastrophe" In: zeit.de of September 10, 2010
15. ↑ Путин - второй по влиятельности в мире по версии Forbes, Vesti.ru of November 3, 2011
16. ^ Rheinische Post of September 26, 2011, p. A2: Flawless democrats. - Exchange of office in Russia: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will run for the upcoming presidential election. Dmitri Medvedev renounces a second term and becomes head of government. ( Memento from March 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
17. ↑ Putin's State Der Standard, April 25, 2011
18. ^ In: Hamburger Abendblatt of September 26, 2011 on Putin's return to the office of President
19. ↑ Weltspiegel , WDR, December 4, 2011, Video (7:02 am): Russia: The end of a bearer of hope ( Memento of the original from December 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ardmediathek.de 
20. ↑ Medvedev elected head of government by the Duma, ORF on May 8, 2012.
21. ↑ Medvedev: Hasty war operations in foreign states could lead to nuclear war RIA Novosti on May 17, 2012.
22. ↑ Medvedev sets priorities for the new government RIA Novosti on May 21, 2012.
23. ↑ Медведев получил партбилет "Единой России" on May 22, 2012.
24. ↑ Medvedev follows Putin: Change party leader at handelsblatt.com, May 26, 2012 (accessed on May 26, 2012).
25. ↑ Decree of the President of the Russian Federation N 459 of September 14, 2015 "On the award of DA Medvedev with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland 1st Class" (Russian).
26. ^ The Loyalty of Fear. In: The Moscow Times. November 16, 2016.
27. ↑ After Putin's speech, Russia's government resigns as a whole , Welt , January 15, 2020
28. ↑ realty.newsru.com, September 23, 2008 .
29. ↑ Там, за 6-метровым забором дачи Медведева . fbk.info, Aleksey Navalny. September 15, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
30. ↑ Russia's president splashes out on new super-yacht . theguardian.com, Tom Parfitt. January 27, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
31. ↑ Timakova called the FBK investigation into Medvedev's residences a "propaganda attack" ; novayagazeta.ru, March 2, 2017.
32. ↑ Don't call him “Dimon”. Retrieved July 14, 2017 (Russian, with English subtitles). 
33. ↑ Простые истины In: Itogi (Russian).
34. ↑ Christina Hebel: Arrests in Russia: tens of thousands protest - Medvedev is skiing . In: Spiegel Online . March 27, 2017 ( spiegel.de ).
35. ↑ Russia: Medvedev rejects allegations of corruption . In: The time . Hamburg April 4, 2017 ( zeit.de ).
36. ↑ Russia's Protests Explained: Why Rubber Ducks, Sneakers Are at Demonstrations , NBC, March 27, 2017
37. ^ Even the Ducks Live Like Kings at Russian PM Medvedev's Summer Getaway. In: The Moscow Times. 15th September 2016
38. ↑ Inflated Duck Lands Russian Activist in Jail. In: The Moscow Times. February 26, 2018.
39. ^ Fear of the Third World War In: Handelsblatt . February 12, 2016, pp. 52–59 (interview with Dmitri Anatoljewitsch Medvedev).