Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the deputy chairman of the
Security Council of Russia
The Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF or Sovbez; russian: Совет безопасности Российской Федерации (СБРФ), Sovet bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (SBRF)) is a constitutional consultative bo ...
since 2020. Medvedev also served as the
president of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
between 2008 and 2012 and
prime minister of Russia between 2012 and 2020.
Medvedev was elected president in the
2008 election. He was regarded as more liberal than his predecessor,
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, who was also appointed 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
The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
, and recovered from the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
. Medvedev also launched an
anti-corruption campaign, despite later being accused of corruption himself.
He served a single term in office and was succeeded by Putin following the
2012 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*3–4 January ...
. Medvedev was then appointed by Putin as prime minister.
He resigned along with the rest of the government on 15 January 2020 to allow Putin to make
sweeping constitutional changes; he was succeeded by
Mikhail Mishustin
Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin ( rus, links=no, Михаил Владимирович Мишустин, , mixɐˈil vlɐˈdʲimʲirəvʲitɕ miˈʂusʲtʲɪn; born 3 March 1966) is a Russian politician and economist serving as the prime minist ...
on 16 January 2020. On the same day, Putin appointed Medvedev to the new office of deputy chairman of the Security Council.
In the views of some analysts, Medvedev's presidency did seem to promise positive changes, both at home and in ties with the West, signaling "the possibility of a new, more liberal period in Russian politics"; however, he later seemed to adopt increasingly radical positions.
Early life and education
![Dmitry Medvedev baby photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Dmitry_Medvedev_baby_photo.jpg)
Dmitry Medvedev was born on 14 September 1965 in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, in the Soviet Union. His father, Anatoly Afanasyevich Medvedev (November 1926 – 2004), was a chemical engineer teaching at the
Leningrad State Institute of Technology. Dmitry's mother, Yulia Veniaminovna Medvedeva (née Shaposhnikova, born 21 November 1939),
studied languages at
Voronezh University
Voronezh State University is one of the main universities in European Russia, Central Russia, located in the city of Voronezh. The university was established in 1918 by professors evacuated from the University of Tartu in Estonia. The university ...
and taught Russian at
Herzen State Pedagogical University. Later, she would also work as a tour guide at
Pavlovsk Palace
Pavlovsk Palace (russian: Павловский дворец) is an 18th-century Russian Imperial residence built by the order of Catherine the Great for her son Grand Duke Paul, in Pavlovsk, within Saint Petersburg. After his death, ...
. The Medvedevs lived in a 40m
2 apartment at 6 Bela Kun Street in the Kupchino Municipal Okrug (district) of Leningrad.
Dmitry was his parents' only child. The Medvedevs were regarded at the time as a Soviet
intelligentsia family.
His maternal grandparents were Ukrainians whose surname was Kovalev, originally
Koval. Medvedev traces his family roots to the
Belgorod
Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics
The population of B ...
region.
As a child, Medvedev was intellectually curious, described by his first grade teacher Vera Smirnova as a "dreadful why-asker". After school, he would spend some time playing with his friends before hurrying home to work on his assignments. In the third grade, Medvedev studied the ten-volume ''
Small Soviet Encyclopedia'' belonging to his father.
In the second and third grades, he showed interest in dinosaurs and memorised primary Earth's
geologic development periods, from the Archean up to the Cenozoic. In the fourth and fifth grades he demonstrated interest in chemistry, conducting elementary experiments. He was involved to some degree with sport. In grade seven, his adolescent curiosity blossomed through his relationship with
Svetlana Linnik, his future wife, who was studying at the same school in a parallel class.
This apparently affected Medvedev's school performance. He calls the school's final exams in 1982 a "tough period when I had to mobilize my abilities to the utmost for the first time in my life."
Student years and academic career
![Jurfak SPb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Jurfak_SPb.jpg)
In the autumn of 1982, 17-year-old Medvedev enrolled at
Leningrad State University to study law. Although he also considered studying
linguistics
Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
, Medvedev later said he never regretted his choice, finding his chosen subject increasingly fascinating, stating that he was lucky "to have chosen a field that genuinely interested him and that it was really 'his thing'".
Fellow students described Medvedev as a correct and diplomatic person who in debates presented his arguments firmly, without offending.
During his student years, Medvedev was a fan of the English rock bands
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
,
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, and
Deep Purple. He was also fond of sports, and participated in athletic competitions in
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
and
weight-lifting.
He graduated from the
Leningrad State University Faculty of Law in 1987 (together with Ilya Yeliseyev,
Anton Ivanov,
Nikolay Vinnichenko
Nikolay Alexandrovich Vinnichenko (in russian: Николай Александрович Винничéнко, born April 10, 1965 in Kazakhstan, Soviet Union) is a Russian lawyer and politician.
Biography
Nikolay Vinnichenko graduated from t ...
and
Konstantin Chuychenko
Konstantin Anatolyevich Chuychenko (; born 12 July 1965) is a Russian politician, businessman, and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice since 21 January 2020. Previously, he was Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and Chief of Staff of the ...
, who later became associates). After graduating, Medvedev considered joining the prosecutor's office to become an investigator however, he took an opportunity to pursue graduate studies as the civil law chair, deciding to accept three budget-funded post-graduate students to work at the chair itself.
In 1990, Medvedev defended his dissertation titled, "Problems of Realisation of Civil Juridical Personality of State Enterprise" and received his
Doctor of Juridical Science
A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate in law equivalent to the more commonly awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Australia
The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National Univ ...
(''
Candidate of Juridical Sciences'') degree in
civil law.
Anatoly Sobchak
Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Soviet and Russian politician, a co-author of the ...
, a major democratic politician of the 1980s and 1990s was one of Medvedev's professors at the university. In 1988, Medvedev joined Sobchak's team of democrats and served as the de facto head of Sobchak's successful
campaign
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed
*Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme
* Bl ...
for a seat in the new Soviet parliament, the
Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.
After Sobchak's election campaign Medvedev continued his academic career in the position of
docent
The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de con ...
at his alma mater, now renamed
Saint Petersburg State University. He taught civil and Roman law until 1999. According to one student, Medvedev was a popular teacher; "strict but not harsh". During his tenure Medvedev co-wrote a popular three-volume civil law textbook which over the years has sold a million copies.
Medvedev also worked at a small law consultancy firm which he had founded with his friends Anton Ivanov and Ilya Yeliseyev, to supplement his academic salary.
Early career
Career in St Petersburg
In 1990,
Anatoly Sobchak
Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Soviet and Russian politician, a co-author of the ...
returned from Moscow to become chairman of the Leningrad
City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
. Sobchak hired Medvedev who had previously headed his election campaign. One of Sobchak's former students,
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, became an adviser. The next summer, Sobchak was elected Mayor of the city, and Medvedev became a consultant to City Hall's Committee for Foreign Affairs. It was headed by Putin.
In November 1993, Medvedev became the legal affairs director of Ilim Pulp Enterprise (ILP), a St. Petersburg-based
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
company. Medvedev aided the company in developing a strategy as the firm launched a significant expansion. Medvedev received 20% of the company's stock. In the next seven years Ilim Pulp Enterprise became Russia's largest lumber company with an annual revenue of around $500 million. Medvedev sold his shares in ILP in 1999. He then took his first job at the central government of Russia. The profits realised by Medvedev are unknown.
Career in the central government
![Vladimir Putin with Dmitry Medvedev-3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Vladimir_Putin_with_Dmitry_Medvedev-3.jpg)
In June 1996, Medvedev's colleague
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
was brought into the
Russian presidential administration
The Presidential Executive Office of Russia or the Presidential Administration of Russia ( rus, Администрация Президента Российской Федерации, Administratsiya Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the ex ...
. Three years later, on 16 August 1999, he became
Prime Minister of Russia. Three months later, in November 1999, Medvedev became one of several from St. Petersburg brought in by Vladimir Putin to top government positions in Moscow. On 31 December, he was appointed deputy
head of the presidential staff, becoming one of the politicians closest to future President Putin. On 17 January 2000, Dmitry Medvedev was promoted to
(the highest
federal state civilian service rank) by the Decree signed by
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
as acting
President of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
. During the
2000 presidential elections, he was Putin's
campaign manager. Putin won the election with 52.94% of the popular vote. Medvedev was quoted after the election commenting he thoroughly enjoyed the work and the responsibility calling it "a test of strength".
As president, Putin launched a campaign against corrupt
oligarchs
Oligarch may refer to:
Authority
* Oligarch, a member of an oligarchy, a power structure where control resides in a small number of people
* Oligarch (Kingdom of Hungary), late 13th–14th centuries
* Business oligarch, wealthy and influential bu ...
and economic mismanagement. He appointed Medvedev chairman of gas company
Gazprom's board of directors in 2000 with
Alexei Miller. Medvedev put an end to the large-scale tax evasion and asset stripping by the previous corrupt management. Medvedev then served as deputy chair from 2001 to 2002, becoming chair for the second time in June 2002,
a position which he held until his ascension to presidency in 2008.
During Medvedev's tenure, Gazprom's debts were restructured
and the company's market capitalisation grew from $7.8 billion
in 2000 to $300 billion in early 2008. Medvedev headed Russia's negotiations with Ukraine and Belarus during gas price disputes.
In October 2003, Medvedev replaced
Alexander Voloshin
Alexander Stalyevich Voloshin (russian: link=no, Александр Стальевич Волóшин; born 3 March 1956, Moscow) is a Russian politician who briefly was chairman of the board of directors of RAO UES, the former Russian state p ...
as presidential
chief of staff. In November 2005, Medvedev moved from the presidential administration of the government when Putin appointed him as first
deputy prime minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
of Russia. In particular, Medvedev was made responsible for the implementation of the
National Priority Projects
The National Priority Projects of Russia (russian: Приоритетные национальные проекты России) was a program of the Russian government set out by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech on 5 September 2 ...
focusing on improving
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
,
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
, housing and
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
. The program saw an increase of wages in healthcare and education and construction of new apartments but its funding, 4% of the federal budget, was not enough to significantly overhaul Russia's infrastructure. According to opinion polls, most Russians believed the money invested in the projects had been spent ineffectively.
Presidential candidate
![Vladimir Putin 11 March 2008-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Vladimir_Putin_11_March_2008-1.jpg)
Following his appointment as first deputy prime minister, many political observers began to regard Medvedev as a potential candidate for the 2008 presidential elections, although Western observers widely believed Medvedev was too liberal and too pro-Western for Putin to endorse him as a candidate. Instead, Western observers expected the candidate to arise from the ranks of the so-called
siloviki
In the Russian political lexicon, a ''silovik'' ( rus, силови́к, p=sʲɪlɐˈvʲik; plural: ''siloviki'', rus, силовики́, p=sʲɪləvʲɪˈkʲi) is a person who works in the Russian Armed Forces, the Russian national police, ...
, security and military officials many of whom were appointed to high positions during Putin's presidency.
The silovik
Sergei Ivanov
Sergei Borisovich Ivanov ( rus, Сергей Борисович Иванов, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej bɐˈrʲisəvʲɪtɕ ɪvɐˈnof; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who has served as the Special Representative of ...
and the administrator-specialist
Viktor Zubkov
Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov ( rus, Ви́ктор Алексе́евич Зубко́в, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ zʊpˈkof; born 15 September 1941) is a Russian civil servant, politician and businessman who served as the 36th Pr ...
were seen as the strongest candidates.
In opinion polls which asked Russians to pick their favourite successor to Putin from a list of candidates not containing Putin himself, Medvedev often came out first, beating Ivanov and Zubkov as well as the opposition candidates.
In November 2006, Medvedev's trust rating was 17%, more than double than that of Ivanov. Medvedev's popularity was probably boosted by his high-profile role in the
National Priority Projects
The National Priority Projects of Russia (russian: Приоритетные национальные проекты России) was a program of the Russian government set out by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech on 5 September 2 ...
.
Many observers were surprised when on 10 December 2007, President Putin introduced Medvedev as his preferred successor. This was staged on TV with four parties suggesting Medvedev's candidature to Putin, and Putin then giving his endorsement. The four pro-Kremlin parties were
United Russia
United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Russian conservative political party. As the largest party in Russia, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the State Duma , havin ...
,
Fair Russia
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks.
Types
Variations of fairs incl ...
,
Agrarian Party of Russia and
Civilian Power
The Civilian Power or Citizens' Force (GS; russian: Гражданская сила; ГС; ''Grazhdanskaya sila'', ''GS'') is a green-liberal political party in the Russian Federation. The organization was called the Network Party for Support o ...
.
United Russia held its
party congress
The terms party conference (UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membe ...
on 17 December 2007 where by secret ballot of the delegates, Medvedev was officially endorsed as their candidate in the 2008 presidential election. He formally registered his candidacy with the
Central Election Commission on 20 December 2007 and said he would step down as chairman of Gazprom, since under the current laws, the president is not permitted to hold another post. His
registration
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts entertainment, and media Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), th ...
was formally accepted as valid by the Russian Central Election Commission on 21 January 2008. Describing his reasons for endorsing Medvedev, Putin said:
2008 presidential election
Election campaign
![Medvedev campaign poster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Medvedev_campaign_poster.JPG)
As 2 March 2008 election approached, the outgoing president, Vladimir Putin, remained the country's most popular politician. An opinion poll by Russia's independent polling organisation, the Levada Center, conducted over the period 21–24 December 2007 indicated that when presented a list of potential candidates, 79% of Russians were ready to vote for Medvedev if the election was immediately held. The other main contenders, the
Communist Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (russian: Генна́дий Андре́евич Зюга́нов; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician, who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and served as M ...
and the
LDPR
LDPR — Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (russian: ЛДПР — Либерально-демократическая партия России, LDPR — Liberal'no-demokraticheskaya partiya Rossii) is a right-wing populist and ultranationalist p ...
's
Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky, ''né'' Eidelshtein (russian: link=false, Эйдельштейн) (25 April 1946 – 6 April 2022) was a Russian right-wing populist politician and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) fr ...
both received in 9% in the same poll. Much of Putin's popularity transferred to his chosen candidate, with 42% of the survey responders saying that Medvedev's strength came from Putin's support to him.
In his first speech after being endorsed, Medvedev stated that, as president, he would appoint Vladimir Putin to the post of
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
to head the
Russian government. Although
constitutionally barred from a third consecutive presidential term, such a role would allow Putin to continue as an influential figure in Russian politics. Putin pledged that he would accept the position of prime minister should Medvedev be elected president. Although Putin had pledged not to change the distribution of authority between the president and prime minister, many analysts expected a shift in the center of power from the presidency to the prime minister post when Putin assumed the latter under a Medvedev presidency. Election posters portrayed the pair side by side with the slogan "Together We Win" ("").
Medvedev vowed to work closely with Putin once elected.
In December 2007, in preparation for his election campaign, Medvedev promised that funding of the
National Priority Projects
The National Priority Projects of Russia (russian: Приоритетные национальные проекты России) was a program of the Russian government set out by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech on 5 September 2 ...
would be raised by 260 billion rubles for 2008. Medvedev's election campaign was relatively low-key and, like his predecessor, Medvedev refused to take part in televised debates, citing his high workload as first deputy prime minister as the reason. Instead, Medvedev preferred to present his views on his election websit
Medvedev2008.ru
In January 2008, Medvedev launched his campaign with stops in the
oblast
An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...
s. On 22 January 2008, Medvedev held what was effectively his first campaign speech at Russia's second Civic Forum, advocating a
liberal-conservative
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
agenda for modernising Russia. Medvedev argued that Russia needed "decades of stable development" because the country had "exhausted its share of revolutions and social upheavals back in the twentieth century". Medvedev therefore emphasised liberal modernisation while still aiming to continue his predecessor's
agenda
Agenda may refer to:
Information management
* Agenda (meeting), points to be discussed and acted upon, displayed as a list
* Political agenda, the set of goals of an ideological group
* Lotus Agenda, a DOS-based personal information manager
* Pers ...
of stabilisation.
[Sakwa 2011, p.287] On 15 February 2008, Medvedev held a keynote
speech at the Fifth
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...
Economic Forum, saying that:
In the Krasnoyarsk speech, Medvedev harshly condemned Russia's "
legal nihilism
Legal nihilism is negative attitude toward law. Legal nihilism is "an erosion of the belief in law as a beneficial institution of societal organization." Many scholars believe that legal nihilism is a destructive phenomenon.
Depending on the law ...
" and highlighted the need to ensure the independence of the country's judicial system and the need for an anti-corruption program. Economically, Medvedev advocated private property, economic deregulation and lower taxes. According to him, Russia's economy should be modernised by focusing on four "I"s: institutions, infrastructure, innovation and investment.
Election win
![Vladimir Putin 2 March 2008-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Vladimir_Putin_2_March_2008-2.jpg)
Medvedev was elected
President of Russia
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
on 2 March 2008. The final election results gave him 70.28% (52,530,712) of votes with a turnout of 69.78% of registered voters. The main contenders,
Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (russian: Генна́дий Андре́евич Зюга́нов; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician, who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and served as M ...
and
Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky, ''né'' Eidelshtein (russian: link=false, Эйдельштейн) (25 April 1946 – 6 April 2022) was a Russian right-wing populist politician and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) fr ...
received 17.72% and 9.35% respectively. Three-quarters of Medvedev's vote was Putin's electorate. According to surveys, had Putin and Medvedev both run for president in the same elections, Medvedev would have received 9% of the vote.
The
fairness of the election was disputed by international observers. Andreas Gross, head of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The Assembly is made up ...
(PACE) mission, stated that the elections were "neither free nor fair". Moreover, the few western vote monitors bemoaned the inequality of candidate registration and the abuse of administrative resources by Medvedev allowing blanket television coverage. Russian programmer Shpilkin analysed the results of Medvedev's election and came to the conclusion that the results were falsified by the election committees. However, after the correction for the alleged falsification factor, Medvedev still came out as the winner although with 63% of the vote instead of 70%.
Presidency (2008–12)
Inauguration
![Inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev, 7 May 2008-7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Inauguration_of_Dmitry_Medvedev%2C_7_May_2008-7.jpg)
On 7 May 2008, Dmitry Medvedev took an oath as the third president of the Russian Federation in a ceremony held in the
Grand Kremlin Palace
The Grand Kremlin Palace (russian: Большой Кремлёвский дворец - ) was built from 1837 to 1849 in Moscow, Russia, on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th century on Borovit ...
. After taking the oath of office and receiving a gold chain of double-headed eagles symbolising the presidency, he stated:
His inauguration coincided with the celebration of the
Victory Day
Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...
on 9 May. He attended the military parade at
Red Square
Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...
and signed a
decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...
to provide housing to war veterans.
Personnel appointments
![Naryshkin Sergey Evgenyevich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Naryshkin_Sergey_Evgenyevich.jpg)
On 8 May 2008, Dmitry Medvedev appointed Putin
Prime Minister of Russia as he had promised during his election campaign. The nomination was approved by the State Duma with a clear majority of 392–56, with only
Communist Party of the Russian Federation deputies voting against.
12 May 2008, Putin proposed the list of names for his new cabinet which Medvedev approved.
Most of the personnel remained unchanged from the period of Putin's initial presidency but there were several high-profile changes. The Minister of
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
,
Vladimir Ustinov
Vladimir Vasilyevich Ustinov (russian: Владимир Васильевич Устинов; born 25 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He currently is the Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District. Until 2008, he was Russia's ...
was replaced by
Aleksandr Konovalov; the Minister of Energy,
Viktor Khristenko
Viktor Borisovich Khristenko (russian: Виктор Борисович Христенко; born 28 August 1957) is a Russian politician who was chairman of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission from 1 February 2012 to 1 February 2016. H ...
was replaced with
Sergei Shmatko; the Minister of Communications,
Leonid Reiman
Leonid Dodojonovich Reiman ( Russian: Леонид Дододжонович Рейман; born 12 July 1957, in Leningrad) is a Russian businessman and government official, former Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of the Russ ...
was replaced with
Igor Shchyogolev
Igor Olegovich Shchyogolev (russian: И́горь Оле́гович Щёголев; born November 10, 1965) is a Russian politician. From May 2008 to 20 May 2012, he has served as the Russian Minister of Telecommunications.
Early life and ed ...
and
Vitaliy Mutko received the newly created position of Minister of Sports, Tourism and Youth policy.
In the presidential administration, Medvedev replaced
Sergei Sobyanin
Sergey Semyonovich Sobyanin (russian: link=no, Сергей Семёнович Собянин; born 21 June 1958) is a Russian politician, serving as the 3rd Mayor of Moscow since 21 October 2010.
Sobyanin previously served as the Governor of ...
with
Sergei Naryshkin
Sergey Yevgenyevich Naryshkin ( rus, Серге́й Евге́ньевич Нары́шкин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej jɪˈvɡʲenʲɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈrɨʂkʲɪn; born 27 October 1954) is a Russian politician and businessman who has served as the dire ...
as the head of the administration. The head of the
Federal Security Service,
Nikolai Patrushev
Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (russian: Никола́й Плато́нович Па́трушев; born 11 July 1951) is a Russian politician, security officer and intelligence officer who has served as the secretary of the Security Council of ...
, was replaced with
Alexander Bortnikov
Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov (russian: Алексaндр Васильевич Бoртников; born 15 November 1951) is a Russian intelligence officer who has served as the director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) since 20 ...
.
Medvedev's economic adviser
Arkady Dvorkovich
Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich (russian: Арка́дий Влади́мирович Дворко́вич; born 26 March 1972) is a Russian politician and economist, who was Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet from 21 May 2012 ...
and his press attaché
Natalya Timakova became part of the president's core team. Medvedev's old classmate from his student years,
Konstantin Chuichenko, became his personal assistant.
Medvedev was reported to have taken care not to upset the balance of different factions in the presidential administration and in the government. However, the influence of the powerful security/military-related
siloviki
In the Russian political lexicon, a ''silovik'' ( rus, силови́к, p=sʲɪlɐˈvʲik; plural: ''siloviki'', rus, силовики́, p=sʲɪləvʲɪˈkʲi) is a person who works in the Russian Armed Forces, the Russian national police, ...
weakened after Medvedev's inauguration for the first time in 20 years. In their place, Medvedev brought in the so-called civiliki, a network of
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
civil law scholars preferred by Medvedev for high positions.
"Tandem rule"
![Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Dmitry_Medvedev_and_Vladimir_Putin-1.jpg)
From the beginning of Medvedev's tenure,
the nature of his presidency and his relationship with Putin was subject to considerable media speculation. In a unique situation in the Russian Federation's political history, the constitutionally powerful president was now flanked with a highly influential prime minister (Putin), who also remained the country's most popular politician. Previous prime ministers had proven to be almost completely subordinate to the president and none of them had enjoyed strong public approval, with
Yevgeny Primakov
Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (29 October 1929 – 26 June 2015) was a Russian politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999. During his long career, he also served as Foreign Minister, Speaker of the Supreme ...
and Putin's previous tenure (1999–2000) as prime minister under
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
being the only exceptions.
Journalists quickly dubbed the new system with a practically dual-headed executive as "government by tandem" or "tandemocracy", with Medvedev and Putin called the "ruling tandem".
Daniel Treisman
Daniel Treisman is an American economist, who is most notable for being the author of the bestselling book Spin Dictators.
Education
He completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Oxford in 1986.
He completed his master's degre ...
has argued that early in Medvedev's presidency, Putin seemed ready to disengage and started withdrawing to the background. In the first year of Medvedev's presidency, two external events threatening Russia—the
late-2000s financial crisis and the
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
—changed Putin's plans and caused him to resume a stronger role in Russian politics.
Main external events
2008 Russo-Georgian War
![Decree recognising South Ossetia independence](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Decree_recognising_South_Ossetia_independence.png)
The long-lingering
conflict
Conflict may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton
* ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne
* ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...
between
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and the separatist regions of
South Ossetia
South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
and
Abkhazia, which were supported by Russia, escalated during the summer of 2008.On 1 August 2008, the Russian-backed South Ossetian forces started shelling Georgian villages, with a sporadic response from Georgian peacekeepers in the area. Intensifying artillery attacks by the South Ossetians broke a 1992 ceasefire agreement. To put an end to these attacks, the Georgian army units were sent in to the South Ossetian conflict zone on 7 August. Georgian troops took control of most of Tskhinvali, a separatist stronghold, in hours.
At the time of the attack, Medvedev was on vacation and Putin was attending the
opening ceremony of the
2008 Beijing Olympics. At about 1:00 a.m on 8 August, Medvedev held a telephone conversation with the Defence Minister,
Anatoliy Serdyukov
Anatoly Eduardovich Serdyukov (russian: Анатолий Эдуардович Сердюков; born 8 January 1962) is a Russian politician and businessman. He was Russia's Minister of Defense from 15 February 2007 to 6 November 2012, and made ...
. It is likely that during this conversation, Medvedev authorised the use of force against Georgia. The next day, Medvedev released a statement, in which he said:
In the early hours of 8 August, Russian military forces launched a counter-offensive against Georgian troops. After five days of heavy fighting, all Georgian forces were routed from South Ossetia and Abkhazia. On 12 August, Medvedev ended the Russian military operation, entitled "Operation to force Georgia into peace". Later on the same day, a peace deal brokered by the French and EU president,
Nicolas Sarkozy, was signed between the warring parties. On 26 August, after being unanimously passed by the
State Duma, Medvedev signed a decree
recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. The five-day conflict cost the lives of 48 Russian soldiers, including 10 peacekeepers, while the casualties for Georgia was 170 soldiers and 14 policemen.
The Russian popular opinion of the military intervention was broadly positive, not just among the supporters of the government, but across the political spectrum.
[Treisman, p.154] Medvedev's popularity ratings soared by around 10 percentage points to over 70%, due to what was seen as his effective handling of the war.
Shortly in the aftermath of the conflict, Medvedev formulated a 5-point strategy of the Russian foreign policy, which has become known as the
Medvedev Doctrine. On 30 September 2009, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
–sponsored ''Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia'' stated that, while preceded by months of mutual provocations, "open hostilities began with a large-scale Georgian military operation against the town of Tskhinvali and the surrounding areas, launched in the night of 7 to 8 August 2008."
2008–09 economic crisis
In September 2008, Russia was hit by repercussions of the
global financial crisis
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
. Before this, Russian officials, such as the Finance Minister,
Alexei Kudrin
Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin ( rus, Алексе́й Леони́дович Ку́дрин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ ˈkudrʲɪn; born 12 October 1960) is a Russian liberal politician and economist. Previously he served as the C ...
, had said they believed Russia would be safe, due to its stable macroeconomic situation and substantial reserves accumulated during the years of growth. Despite this, the recession proved to be the worst in the history of Russia, and the country's GDP fell by over 8% in 2009.
The government's response was to use over a trillion rubles (more than $40 billion U.S. Dollars) to help troubled banks,
[Treisman, p.149] and initiated a large-scale stimulus programme, lending $50 billion to struggling companies.
No major banks collapsed, and minor failures were handled in an effective way. The economic situation stabilised in 2009, but substantial growth did not resume until 2010. Medvedev's approval ratings declined during the crisis, dropping from 83% in September 2008 to 68% in April 2009, before recovering to 72% in October 2009 following improvements in the economy.
According to some analysts, the economic crisis, together with the 2008 South Ossetia war, delayed Medvedev's liberal programme. Instead of launching the reforms, the government and the presidency had to focus their efforts on anti-crisis measures and handling the foreign policy implications of the war.
Domestic policy
Economy
![CeBit 2011 - Glosnass-K Satellite Model 11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/CeBit_2011_-_Glosnass-K_Satellite_Model_11.jpg)
In the economic sphere, Medvedev has launched a
modernisation programme which aims at modernising
Russia's economy and society, decreasing the country's dependency on oil and gas revenues and creating a
diversified economy based on high technology and
innovation
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...
.
The programme is based on the top 5 priorities for the country's technological development:
efficient energy use;
nuclear technology; information technology;
medical technology and
pharmaceuticals; and
space technology
Space technology is technology for use in outer space, in travel (''astronautics'') or other activities beyond Earth's atmosphere, for purposes such as spaceflight, space exploration, and Earth observation. Space technology includes space vehicles ...
in combination with telecommunications.
In November 2010, on his
annual speech to the
Federal Assembly Medvedev stressed for greater
privatisation of unneeded state assets both at the federal and regional level, and that Russia's regions must sell-off non-core assets to help fund post-crisis spending, following in the footsteps of the state's planned $32 billion 3-year asset sales. Medvedev said the money from privatisation should be used to help modernise the economy and the regions should be rewarded for finding their own sources of cash.
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 privatised, and although the state had increased its role in the economy in recent years, this should remain a temporary move.
On 7 August 2009, Dmitry Medvedev instructed the
prosecutor general
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
,
Yury Chayka, and the chief of the Audit Directorate of the
Presidential Administration of Russia
The Presidential Executive Office of Russia or the Presidential Administration of Russia ( rus, Администрация Президента Российской Федерации, Administratsiya Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the ex ...
,
Konstantin Chuychenko
Konstantin Anatolyevich Chuychenko (; born 12 July 1965) is a Russian politician, businessman, and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice since 21 January 2020. Previously, he was Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and Chief of Staff of the ...
, to probe
state corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...
s, a new highly privileged form of organisation earlier promoted by President Putin, to question their appropriateness.
In June 2010, he visited the Twitter headquarters in
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
declaring a mission to bring more high-tech innovation and investment to the country.
Police reform
Medvedev made reforming Russia's law enforcement one of his top agendas, the reason for which was a shooting started by a police officer in April 2009 in one of Moscow's supermarkets. Medvedev initiated the reform at the end of 2009, with a presidential decree issued on 24 December ordering the government to begin planning the reform. In early August 2010, a draft law was posted on the Internet at the addres
for public discussion. The new website received more than 2,000 comments within 24 hours.
Based on citizen feedback, several modifications to the draft were made. On 27 October 2010, President Medvedev submitted the draft to the
lower house of the
Russian parliament
The Federal Assembly ( rus, Федера́льное Собра́ние, r=Federalnoye Sobraniye, p=fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnəjə sɐˈbranʲɪjə) is the national legislature of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of the Russian F ...
, the
State Duma.
The State Duma voted to approve the bill on 28 January 2011, and the
upper house
An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...
, the
Federation Council
The Federation Council (russian: Сове́т Федера́ции – ''Soviet Federatsii'', common abbreviation: Совфед – ''Sovfed''), or Senate (officially, starting from July 1, 2020) ( ru , Сенат , translit = Senat), is th ...
followed suit on 2 February 2011. On 7 February 2011, President Medvedev signed the bill into law.
The changes came into effect on 1 March 2011.
Under the reform, the salaries of Russian police officers were increased by 30%, Interior Ministry personnel were cut and financing and jurisdiction over the police were centralised. Around 217 billion rubles ($7 billion) were allocated to the police reform from the federal budget for the time frame 2012–2013.
Anti-corruption campaign
![Dmitry Medvedev 30 September 2008-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Dmitry_Medvedev_30_September_2008-1.jpg)
On 19 May 2008, Medvedev signed a decree on anti-corruption measures, which included creation of an Anti-Corruption Council. In the first meeting of the council on 30 September 2008, Medvedev said:
[Sakwa 2011, p.329]
In July 2008, Medvedev's ''National Anti-Corruption Plan'' was published in the official
Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper. It suggested measures aimed at making sanctions for corruption more severe, such as legislation to disqualify state and municipal officials who commit minor corruption offences and making it obligatory for officials to report corruption. The plan ordered the government to prepare anti-corruption legislation based on these suggestions. The bill that followed, called ''On Corruption Counteraction'' was signed into law on 25 December 2008 as Federal Law N 273-FZ. According to Professor
Richard Sakwa
Richard Sakwa (born 1953) is a British political scientist and a former professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent, a senior research fellow at the National Research University-Higher School of Economics in Moscow, a ...
, "Russia now at last had serious, if flawed, legislation against corruption, which in the context was quite an achievement, although preliminary results were meagre."
Russia's score in
Corruption Perceptions Index rose from 2.1 in 2008 to 2.2 in 2009, which "could be interpreted as a mildly positive response to the newly adopted package of anti-corruption legislation initiated and promoted by president Medvedev and passed by the Duma in December 2008", according to
Transparency International
Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...
's CPI 2009 Regional Highlights report.
On 13 April 2010, Medvedev signed presidential decree No. 460 which introduced the ''National Anti-Corruption Strategy'', a midterm government policy, while the plan is updated every two years. The new strategy stipulated increased fines, greater public oversight of government budgets and sociological research.
According to
Georgy Satarov, president of the Indem think tank, the latest decree "probably reflected Medvedev's frustration with the fact that the 2008 plan had yielded little result."
In January 2011, President Medvedev admitted that the government had so far failed in its anti-corruption measures.
On 4 May 2011, Medvedev signed the Federal Law ''On Amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation to Improve State Anti-Corruption Management''. The bill raised fines for corruption to up to 100 times the amount of the bribe given or received, with the maximum fine being 500 million rubles ($18.3 million).
Education
President Medvedev initiated a new policy called "Our New School" and instructed the government to present a review on the implementation of the initiative every year.
Development of the political system
![Siergiej Mironow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Siergiej_Mironow.jpg)
Regional elections held on 1 March 2009 were followed by accusations of
administrative resources being used in support of
United Russia
United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Russian conservative political party. As the largest party in Russia, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the State Duma , havin ...
candidates, with the leader of
A Just Russia
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...
,
Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov (russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Миро́нов; born 14 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He was Chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, from 2001 to 2011 ...
, being especially critical. Responding to this, Medvedev met with the chairman of the
Central Election Commission of Russia
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
,
Vladimir Churov
Vladimir Yevgenyevich Churov (russian: Владимир Евгеньевич Чуров; born March 27, 1953, in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Russian official and politician. From March 2007 to March 2016, he served a member (delegated by the S ...
, and called for moderation in the use of administrative resources.
In August 2009, Medvedev promised to break the near-dominant position of United Russia party in national and regional legislatures, stating that "New democratic times are beginning".
[Polls show Russians back crisis plan: Putin's party](_blank)
Reuters, 12 October 2009 The next regional elections were held on 11 October 2009 and won by United Russia with 66% of the vote. The elections were again harshly criticised for the use of
administrative resources in favour of United Russia candidates.
Communist,
LDPR
LDPR — Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (russian: ЛДПР — Либерально-демократическая партия России, LDPR — Liberal'no-demokraticheskaya partiya Rossii) is a right-wing populist and ultranationalist p ...
and
A Just Russia
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...
parliamentary deputies staged an unprecedented walkout on 14–15 October 2009 as a result.
[Sakwa 2011, p.327] Although Medvedev often promised to stand up for more political pluralism, Professor
Richard Sakwa
Richard Sakwa (born 1953) is a British political scientist and a former professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent, a senior research fellow at the National Research University-Higher School of Economics in Moscow, a ...
observed, after the 2009 regional elections, a gulf formed between Medvedev's words and the worsening situation, with the question arising "whether Medvedev had the desire or ability to renew Russia's political system."
On 26 October 2009, the First Deputy Chief of
Staff,
Vladislav Surkov
Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov (russian: Владислав Юрьевич Сурков; born 21 September 1962 or 1964) is a Russian politician and businessman. He was First Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration from 1999 to 20 ...
, warned that democratic experiments could result in more instability and that more instability "could rip Russia apart". On 6 November 2010, Medvedev vetoed a recently passed bill which restricted antigovernment demonstrations. The bill, passed on 22 October, prohibited anyone who had previously been convicted of organising an illegal mass rally from seeking permission to stage a demonstration.
In late November 2010, Medvedev made a public statement about the damage being done to Russia's politics by the dominance of the United Russia party. He claimed that the country faced political stagnation if the ruling party would "degrade" if not challenged; "this stagnation is equally damaging to both the ruling party and the opposition forces." In the same speech, he said Russian democracy was "imperfect" but improving.
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Russian correspondents reported that this came on the heels of discontent in political circles and opposition that the authorities, in their view, had too much control over the political process.
).
Medvedev on 8 May 2009, proposed to the legislature and on 2 June signed into law an amendment whereby the chairperson of the
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
. In August of the same year, he stated his opposition to the
. Medvedev denied the
. Arguments of the
(OSCE) were called a lie. Medvedev said it was
, President Medvedev published a statement in his video blog. He stressed that the memory of national tragedies is as sacred as the memory of victory. Medvedev recalled that for twenty of the pre-war years entire layers and classes of the Russian people
). Nothing can take precedence over the value of human life, said the president.
In a speech on 15 September 2009, Medvedev stated that he approved of the abolition in 2004 of direct popular elections of
, effectively in favour 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 2009, Medvedev proposed an amendment to the election law which would decrease the
from 7% to 5%. The amendment was
in Spring 2009. Parties receiving more than 5% but less than 6% of the votes would henceforward be guaranteed one seat, while parties receiving more than 6% but less than 7% will get two seats. These seats will be allocated before the seats for parties with over 7% support.
stipulates that parties with representatives in the State Duma are free to put forward a list of candidates for the Duma elections, while parties with no current representation need first to collect signatures. Under the 2009 amendments initiated by Medvedev, the number of signatures required was lowered from 200,000 to 150,000 for the
. In subsequent elections, only 120,000 signatures will be required.
In August, during the third month of Medvedev's presidency, Russia took part in the
to a post–Cold War high. On 26 August, following a unanimous vote of the
. On 31 August 2008, Medvedev shifted Russia's
under his government, built around five main principles:
# Fundamental principles of
.
# Russia will not seek confrontation with other nations.
# Russia will protect its citizens wherever they are.
# Russia will develop ties in friendly regions.
in Eastern Europe. Following U.S. President
's 17 September 2009 decision to not deploy missile-defense elements in the Czech Republic and Poland, Dmitry Medvedev said he decided against deploying Iskander missiles in Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast.
On 21 November 2011, Medvedev claimed that the war on Georgia had prevented further NATO expansion.
In 2011, during the performance at the
and dangerous. Progressive economic stratification which can be less evident in period of economic growth, leads to acute conflicts between rich and poor people in period of downturn. In such conditions, the doctrine on class struggle is being revived in many regions of the world, riots and
become reality, by opinion of Medvedev.
In August 2014, President Barack Obama said: "We had a very productive relationship with President Medvedev. We got a lot of things done that we needed to get done."
During the official visit to Armenia on 7 April 2016, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited the
. Medvedev laid flowers at the Eternal Fire and honoured the memory of the victims with a minute of silence. Russia
in 1995.
Although the Russian constitution clearly apportions the greater power in the state to the president, speculation arose over the question of whether it was Medvedev or Prime Minister
who actually wielded the most power.
(Вы, 'vy') when addressing Putin, while Putin addresses Medvedev with the less formal 'ty' (ты).
in which 1,600 Russians took part, 13% believed Medvedev held the most power, 32% believed Putin held the most power, 48% believed that the two shared equal levels of influence, and 7% failed to answer. However, Medvedev attempted to affirm his position by stating, "I am the leader of this state, I am the head of this state, and the division of power is based on this."
, there was a view from some analysts that some of Medvedev's contemporaneous actions and comments at the time were designed to separate his image from Putin's.
suggested these might include his dealings in late 2010 with NATO and the United States, possibly designed to show himself as being better able to deal with Western nations, and comments in November about the need for a stronger opposition in Russian politics, to present himself as a moderniser. BBC News observed other analysts considered the split to be exaggerated, that Medvedev and Putin were "trying to maximise support for the authorities by appealing to different parts of society".
, both of whom funded opposition parties before their arrests, would indicate whether or not Putin was "still calling all the shots".
On 24 September 2011, while speaking at the United Russia party congress, Medvedev recommended Vladimir Putin as the party's presidential candidate and revealed that the two men had long ago cut a deal to allow Putin to return to the presidency in 2012 after he was forced to stand down in 2008 by term limits. This switch was termed by many in the media as "rokirovka", the Russian term for the chess move "
". Medvedev said he himself would be ready to perform "practical work in the government". Putin accepted Medvedev's offer the same day, and backed him for the position of the prime minister of Russia in case the United Russia, whose list of candidates in the elections Medvedev agreed to head, were to win in the upcoming
. The same day, the
endorsed the proposal by President Medvedev to let Putin return to the post of president of Russia.
On 22 December 2011, in his last state of the nation address in Moscow, Medvedev called for comprehensive reform of
— including restoring the election of regional governors and allowing half the seats in the State Duma to be directly elected in the regions. "I want to say that I hear those who talk about the need for change, and understand them", Medvedev said in an address to the Duma. "We need to give all active citizens the legal chance to participate in political life." However, the opposition to the ruling United Russia party of Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin dismissed the proposals as political posturing that failed to adequately address protesters who claimed 4 December election was rigged.
On 7 May, on his last day in office, Medvedev signed the last documents as the head of state: in the sphere of