Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Chairman. The real name of Dmitry Medvedev radically changes the facts of his biography

Grandfather, Afanasy Fedorovich Medvedev in the 50-60s. was the first secretary of the Korenevsky district committee in the Krasnodar region. Maternal grandfather, Veniamin Sergeevich Shaposhnikov - sanitary doctor on the railway in Alekseevka, Belgorod region; left his family and his twin sisters Yulia and Serafima (Elena) Shaposhnikov were raised by their mother Emilia (Melania) Shaposhnikova (nee Kovaleva).

D. Medvedev was the only child in the family. The family lived in the working-class neighborhood of Kupchino on the outskirts of Leningrad.

Before entering the university, he worked in 1982 as a laboratory assistant at LTI.

Didn't serve in the army.

In 1982 he entered the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University (LSU) named after. A.A. Zhdanova, for the evening department; In his second year in 1983, he transferred to the full-time department, from which he graduated in 1987. In 1990 he graduated from graduate school at the Law Faculty of Leningrad State University. Candidate of Legal Sciences (1990; dissertation topic “Problems of implementing the civil legal personality of a state enterprise”; scientific supervisor - Nikolai Kropachev).

Konstantin Chuychenko, Anton Ivanov, Ilya Eliseev (Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank), Nikolay Vinnichenko, Artur Parfenchikov, Alexander Gutsan, Nikolay V. Egorov, Vladimir Alisov (Head of the Legal Department of Gazpromregiongaz), studied on the same course with D. Medvedev. Valeria Adamova (Vice President of Sibur).

In 1987-90, simultaneously with his postgraduate studies, he was an assistant at the Department of Civil Law of Leningrad State University (head of the department - Alexander Sergeev).

There is a version going back to unnamed sources that when he was a student, D. Medvedev allegedly collaborated with the KGB and supposedly in connection with this he allegedly met Putin even then (evil tongues claim that Medvedev and Putin knew each other long before meeting in Sobchak’s office. Allegedly Even in his student years, like other conscientious law students, Medvedev had some contacts with the State Security Committee, which he owed to an employee of this very committee, Vladimir Putin, who at one time was engaged in the selection of personnel for the “authorities” at his native law faculty - Irina Vyunova. "Kremlin Vizier"// "Profile", No. 43, 11/01/2003; Skandaly.ru, 11/18/2003; Lentapedia.

Best of the day

He was a member of the CPSU until its ban in August 1991.

Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting in Moscow. Photo by Mitya Aleshkovsky for Lenta.Ru

In the spring of 1989, he participated in the election campaign of Anatoly Sobchak for the elections to the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR ("Profile", 01.11.2003).

From 1990 to 1999 he taught private law disciplines at the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University (since 1991 - St. Petersburg State University). Assistant professor.

From June 1990 to January 1991, he was a member of the group of assistants to the Chairman of the Leningrad City Council A. Sobchak (along with Yuri Shutov and Vladimir Putin). The time Sobchak worked together dates back to D. Medvedev’s personal acquaintance with V. Putin (“While working with Sobchak, I needed people there, in the mayor’s office. I came to the law faculty, and they suggested Dima” - “First person”, p.182). According to the recollections of other officials, Medvedev appeared in the office of the chairman of the Leningrad City Council (not the mayor’s office - the mayor’s office appeared only in 1991) “almost a month earlier than Putin” - “Interlocutor”, 01/14/2004).

In December 1990, he became the founder of the small state enterprise "Uran" (the other founders were his classmates A. Ivanov and I. Eliseev).

From June 1991 to June 1996, he was a legal expert of the Committee on External Relations (FRC) of the St. Petersburg City Hall (chairman of the FRC - V. Putin). Completed an internship in Sweden on local government issues.

There is a version that D. Medvedev, together with Dmitry Kozak, was involved by V. Putin in resolving the scandalous situation with the issuance of licenses for the export of non-ferrous metals abroad by the St. Petersburg Military Commission ("... professional lawyers quickly hushed up the scandal, proving that there were no violations was" - "Interlocutor", 01/14/2004).

It is considered the author of the idea as a government body, without violating the law, can become a co-founder and co-owner of a joint-stock company - by contributing to the authorized capital the rent due to this government body ("... it was he who was one of the first in St. Petersburg, if not in all of Russia, to come up with, how the government can “enter” a joint-stock company without violating existing laws - not with land, but with rent for land." - Boris Bystrov. The rise of a “civilist” // “St. Petersburg Courier”, November 6, 2003).

According to his ill-wishers, he fell into favor with Putin thanks not only to his knowledge and abilities, but also because of his short stature (“... there is another funny rumor: Putin fell in love with Medvedev for his short stature. Vladimir Vladimirovich himself, as it turns out, He was very complex about this, and Dmitry Anatolyevich was the only one from his circle who was lower than him" - "Interlocutor", 01/14/2004).

Participated in the development of the charter of the Spartak basketball club.

From November 1993 to November 1994 he worked as director for legal issues of the Russian-Swiss joint venture LLP "Ilim Pulp Enterprise" (St. Petersburg; from April 1996 to 1999 - CJSC "Ilim Pulp Enterprise" / Ilim Pulp Enterprise" (general director of the joint venture, and then CJSC "Ilim Pulp Enterprise" - Zakhar Smushkin).

In December 1993, he was one of the founders of AOZT (then CJSC) Finzell (other founders were Z. Smushkin, brothers Boris and Mikhail Zingarevich; general director B. Zingarevich); later JSC Finzell became one of the founders of CJSC Ilim Pulp Enterprise (IPE). In ZAO Finzell he owned 50% of the authorized capital; controlled at least 20% of Ilim Pulp.

In December 1993, together with Z. Smushkin and the Zingarevich brothers, he founded JSC Sibtrust, in which he owned 67% of the authorized capital (in 1995, all the original founders left Sibtrust, which became the property of the Moscow JSC Russkiy Mir, European Trade bank").

In January 1994, together with A. Ivanov and I. Eliseev (the head, since 1990, of the Balfort MP), he established the Balfort Consulting Firm OJSC (since 1997 - the Balfort Consulting Firm CJSC).

In December 1994, he was appointed director of the Ilim Pulp subsidiary - In Jure LLP (registration number AOL-8336, issued by the Committee on External Relations of the Mayor's Office), which was established by the St. Petersburg JV Ilim Pulp Enterprise LLP and the Geneva company VALMET S.A.

He also worked at the Insurance Company "Rus" of Vladislav Reznik (Vladislav Matusovich Reznik: an insurer in bear's clothing - ZAKS.ru, 02/21/2005), one of the founders of which was JV Ilim Pulp Enterprise LLP.

Since 1996, he has collaborated with Vladimir Kogan’s Promstroybank in St. Petersburg on financing investment programs in the forestry industry.

On October 14, 1997, he dropped out of the list of founders of Finzell CJSC (together with Z. Smushkin and the Zingarevich brothers; instead of them, the only founder of Finzell CJSC was Z. Smushkin’s company Intertsez S.A., registered in 1991 in Geneva).

In 1998, he was elected as a member of the board of directors of the Bratsk Timber Industry Complex OJSC acquired by Ilim Pulp (Bratskkomplekslesholding OJSC; General Director - Georgy Trifonov) in the Irkutsk region. He was a member of the board of directors of OJSC Pulp and Cardboard Mill (CEO - G. Trifonov), a subsidiary of Bratskcomplexlesholding.

On November 9, 1999, he was appointed Deputy Head of the Government Office of the Russian Federation (Head of the Office - Dmitry Kozak; First Deputy Head from November 24 - Igor Sechin); relieved of duty on January 11, 2000 (together with I. Sechin).

At the end of 1999, he withdrew from the list of official founders and beneficiaries of all commercial enterprises.

On December 31, 1999, by decree of Acting President V. Putin, he was appointed Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation (Head of the Administration - Alexander Voloshin).

On August 4, 2000, he made a comment on the situation around NTV: “...Some representatives of big business see their role in the social development of Russia quite strangely - by building a systemic opposition to the authorities. This is a counterproductive path. Attempts to interfere with the prerogatives of power must be suppressed, no matter who they come from, must be suppressed within the framework established by the Constitution and laws.”

In January 2000, the newspaper "Moskovsky Komsomolets" (27.1.2000) reported on the upcoming appointment of Medvedev as head of V. Putin's election campaign. On February 15, 2000, D. Medvedev headed V. Putin’s election headquarters.

On June 3, 2000, by decree of President V. Putin, he was appointed First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation.

On June 30, 2000, at the annual meeting of shareholders of OAO Gazprom, he was elected chairman of the company's board of directors instead of Viktor Chernomyrdin.

In April 2001, he became the head of the working group created on the instructions of President V. Putin to liberalize the Gazprom stock market.

On May 30, 2001, at a meeting with President V. Putin, he recommended Rem Vyakhirev (who had just been forced to cede the post of Chairman of the Board of Gazprom to Alexey Miller) instead of himself to the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom - who was unanimously elected in June 2001.

In June 2002, he was again elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO Gazprom.

In October 2002, he was appointed representative of the president in the National Banking Council (NBC; along with him, Presidential Advisor Andrei Illarionov and head of the economic department of the presidential administration Anton Danilov-Danilyan became Putin’s representatives in the NBS).

On October 30, 2003, he was appointed head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, replacing A. Voloshin, who resigned.

On November 4, 2003, commenting on the resignation of A. Voloshin and the appointment of D. Medvedev, Putin said: “The former head of the presidential administration (he worked under the first president of Russia, under Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin) is a good manager and a very decent person. But four years ago "I introduced him to the person who would replace him in this post. He knew this and, in fact, prepared him himself for his replacement." “The people who have been appointed are well known to me, people of liberal, democratic convictions, focused on the development of democracy and a market economy in Russia” (Gazeta.Ru, November 4, 2003).

On November 2, 2003, in an interview with two federal television channels, he outlined his point of view on the “YUKOS case,” doubting the “legal effectiveness” of the seizure of YUKOS shares and calling on law enforcement agencies to be careful: “The consequences of not fully thought-out actions will immediately affect the economy and cause outrage in the political life."

In January 2004, he published an article in The Financial Times, “Russia will not turn away from the path of reform,” in which he called himself a supporter of democracy and “conservative centrism”; characterized the “YUKOS case” as legally justified actions in defense of justice (“This is not a story about how prosecutors “harass businessmen,” but about universal equality before the law, including the rich” - Financial Times (trans. Inopressa.ru, 01/20/2004).

In April 2004, Putin reorganized the Presidential Administration, D. Medvedev remained the head, he had only two deputies left - Igor Sechin and Vladislav Surkov, the rest of the former deputies (including Viktor Ivanov) began to be called assistants to the President.

In June 2004, he was re-elected chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom.

In July 2004, D. Medvedev's classmate and former commercial partner A. Ivanov became first deputy general director of Gazprom-Media OJSC, and at the end of 2004 - chairman of the Supreme Arbitration Court.

In April 2005, commenting on the abolition of direct elections of regional heads, he described the reform of the system for electing governors as aimed at strengthening the unity of power, designed to consolidate regional elites. According to him, the consolidation of the Russian elite is possible only on one platform - to “preserve effective statehood within existing borders,” emphasizing that “if we fail to consolidate the elites, Russia may disappear as a single state.” Touching upon the topic of future presidential elections, he said that “there is an opportunity to create a tradition of transferring power legally on the basis of real democracy” (D. Medvedev: Preserve an effective state within existing borders // “Expert”, 04/04/2005. - No. 13 (460) ).

In November 2005, the Kommersant newspaper named Medvedev's protégés who had recently been appointed to their posts: A. Ivanov, Sergei Dubik, Elena Valyavina, Mikhail Krotov (all except Dubik studied or worked with Medvedev at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg State University ). (Kommersant, November 10, 2005)

On November 14, 2005, he was appointed First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation and relieved of his post as head of the Presidential Administration (his successor in this post was Sergei Sobyanin).

On November 21, 2005, he was appointed deputy chairman of the government commission on interaction between the federal center and the constituent entities of Russia.

On November 28, 2005, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Fradkov, signed a decree entitled “Distribution of responsibilities between the first deputy, deputy prime ministers of the Russian Federation, and the chief of staff of the Government of the Russian Federation,” according to which the first deputy. Prime Minister D. Medvedev

Coordinates the work of federal executive authorities, gives them instructions on the following issues: implementation of national projects, ensuring the unity of economic space and freedom of economic activity, development of competition and antimonopoly policy, implementation of state policy in the field of natural resource management and environmental protection, development of mass communications, interaction with authorities judicial power and prosecutor's office, implementation of state policy in the field of justice." (Kommersant, November 29, 2005).

At the first meeting of the council for the implementation of four priority national projects on November 29, 2005, D. Medvedev said that in two years, within the framework of the project “Affordable and Comfortable Housing for Russian Citizens,” more than 110 thousand young families should have the opportunity to improve their living conditions, including through the use of mortgage loans; The volume of housing construction in 2007 should increase by more than a third compared to 2004.

On December 10, 2005, he was approved as Chairman of the Commission for Combating Infringement in the Field of Intellectual Property, Its Legal Protection and Use.

Since December 2005 - Deputy Chairman of the Government Commission on the Fuel and Energy Complex and Reproduction of the Mineral Resources Base.

In April 2006, he was appointed chairman of the Commission on Religious Associations under the Government of the Russian Federation.

On April 14, 2006, he held a meeting with the heads of the largest Russian corporations about the participation of business in the national project "Education".

In May 2006, he headed the commission for the development of television and radio broadcasting.

In July 2006, in an interview with Expert magazine, he criticized the concept of “sovereign democracy” put forward by V. Surkov (“It seems to me that “sovereign democracy” is far from an ideal term, however, like any other. It is much more correct to talk about genuine democracy or simply about democracy in the presence of comprehensive state sovereignty. If any definitions are attached to the word “democracy", this creates a strange aftertaste. This suggests that after all we are talking about some other, non-traditional democracy... Democracy and state sovereignty must be together. But one should not suppress the other" - "Expert", 07.24.2006. - No. 28 (522).

On October 22, 2006, speaking on the air of the “Sunday Evening” program on the NTV channel, he stated that he was “distressed” that he was considered a rival of Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov in the future presidential elections, and asserted that this did not affect his relationship with Ivanov. (RIA Novosti, 10/22/2006).

On February 22, 2007, Prime Minister M. Fradkov approved a new distribution of responsibilities among his deputies. Medvedev was entrusted with overseeing state policy issues in the field of education, health care, housing policy, social issues, implementation of priority national projects, demographic policy, as well as state policy in the field of environmental management and subsoil use.

In August 2007, M. Fradkov introduced amendments to the regulations of the Russian government, which actually equated First Deputy Prime Ministers D. Medvedev and S. Ivanov with “ordinary” Deputy Prime Ministers Sergei Naryshkin and Alexander Zhukov.

In September 2007, he retained the post of first deputy prime minister in the updated cabinet headed by Viktor Zubkov.

On October 5, 2007, V. Zubkov approved the distribution of responsibilities between his first deputies. Medvedev was tasked with coordinating the work of federal executive authorities and giving them instructions on the implementation of priority national projects and state policy in the field of education, healthcare and social security of citizens, affordable and comfortable housing for Russian citizens, and the development of the agro-industrial complex. Medvedev was also responsible for the implementation of a unified state demographic and migration policy, the development and implementation of state policy in the field of mass communications, the implementation of state policy in the field of natural resource management and environmental protection, the implementation of state policy in the field of justice, for interaction with the judiciary and the prosecutor's office, as well as for state regulation in the field of youth policy.

On December 10, 2007, the leaders of United Russia, A Just Russia, the Agrarian Party and the Civil Power party came to a reception with President Putin and unanimously supported the nomination of Medvedev for the post of President of Russia. V. Putin supported this decision.

On December 11, D. Medvedev announced that he intended to offer the post of Prime Minister to V. Putin after his victory in the elections.

On December 17, 2007, Putin announced his readiness to become head of government under President Medvedev.

On December 20, 2007, it became known that D. Medvedev’s election headquarters would be headed by the head of the presidential administration, A. Sobyanin.

On January 20, 2008, he was officially registered as a candidate for the presidency of Russia. On January 28, he refused to participate in the election debates.

On January 30, 2007, he was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Lawyers Association (RAA; chairman of the board - Pavel Krasheninnikov).

On March 2, 2008, he was elected president of the Russian Federation, receiving, according to official data, 52,530,712 (70.28%) votes with a turnout of 69.71%. Both the turnout data and the percentage of votes cast for D. Medvedev are not realistic: in particular, according to the calculations of mathematician and programmer Sergei Shpilkin, the turnout was about 56%; At least 14.8 million votes were added to Medvedev (out of 52.5 million), in areas where the falsifiers were caught and the hand, both the turnout and Medvedev’s percentage turned out to be even lower.

At the IX Congress of the United Russia party on April 15, 2008, he rejected the invitation to join United Russia: thanking for the offer, he stated that he considered “direct participation” in the party’s activities “to be premature.”

On March 3, Putin signed decree No. 295 “On the status of the newly elected president of the Russian Federation who has not taken office.”

On May 7, 2008, Medvedev's inauguration ceremony took place; on the same day, Medvedev submitted Putin’s candidacy to the State Duma for approval as the country’s prime minister (he was replaced by Alexey Miller as chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom).

Acting State Councilor of the Russian Federation, 1st class.

Kremlin officials called D. Medvedev “vizier” and “grand vizier” behind his back (Profile, November 17, 2003).

Laureate of the Government of the Russian Federation Prize in the field of education for 2001 (10,000 rubles; for participation in the creation of the textbook “Civil Law”, republished several times).

Member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council of the Russian Union of Lawyers. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Lawyers Association (RLA). President of the Association of Alumni of the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg State University / Leningrad State University (since 2004).

Honorary Doctor of Law, Faculty of Law, St. Petersburg State University (since 2005). Honorary Professor at the University of Almaty (Kazakhstan) (since 2006).

Author of two chapters (“Credit and settlement relations” and “Transport obligations”) in the first volume of a three-volume textbook on civil law, which the Department of Civil Law of Leningrad State University first published in 1991. (Civil law: textbook / Collective author; ed.: Sergeev, A. P., ed.: Tolstoy, Yu. K.; . - M.: Prospekt, 2002 - . - T.1: . / N D. Egorov, I. V. Eliseev, A. A. Ivanov, M. V. Krotov and D. A. Medvedev - 6th ed., revised and supplemented, 2002. - 773 pp.)

During his student years, he was interested in photography and rock music (his favorite band was “Black Sabbath”), was involved in weightlifting, and won a university weightlifting competition in his weight category.

Married; with his wife Svetlana, nee Linnik, he studied at the same school; married in 1989; the wife graduated from the Institute of Finance and Economics; works in Moscow and organizes public events in St. Petersburg. Son Ilya born in 1996

Dmitry Medvedev was born on September 14, 1965 in St. Petersburg. His father Anatoly Afanasyevich Medvedev is a professor at the Leningrad Technological Institute, his mother Yulia Veniaminovna is a philologist, taught at the Herzen Pedagogical Institute, and later worked as a guide in the museum. Dmitry Medvedev is the only child in the family.

In 1987, Dmitry Anatolyevich graduated from the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University named after A.A. Zhdanova. At the same university, he completed his postgraduate studies, defending his PhD thesis on the topic “Problems of implementing the civil legal personality of a state enterprise.”

During his student years, Dmitry was interested in photography, was involved in weightlifting, and won the competition of his higher educational institution in his weight category. At the University, Medvedev joined the Communist Party and remained a member until August 1991.

Since 1988, he taught civil and Roman law at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg State University. He was engaged in private legal practice. He stopped teaching in 1999 due to his move to Moscow.

From 1990 to 1995, simultaneously with his teaching work, he was an adviser to the chairman of the Leningrad City Council of People's Deputies, Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak, then an expert on the external relations committee of the St. Petersburg mayor's office, whose chairman was Vladimir Putin.

Since November 1993, he became director of legal affairs at Ilim Pulp Enterprise CJSC. In 1998, he was elected as a member of the board of directors of the Bratsk Timber Industry Complex Open Joint Stock Company.

In November 1999, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Nikolaevich Kozak; he was invited to work in Moscow by Vladimir Putin, who became Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.

A year later, after leaving the post of President Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, he took the position of Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.

In June 2000, Vladimir Putin wins the presidential elections in the Russian Federation and offers Medvedev the post of first deputy head of the presidential administration.

In 2000 - 2001, Dmitry Anatolyevich became Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom, in 2001 - Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom, from June 2002 to May 2008 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Energy Company Gazprom.

From October 2003 to November 2005, Medvedev was the head of the Russian Presidential Administration. In November 2003, he was appointed a member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

From October 21, 2005 to July 10, 2008 - First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Presidential Council for the Implementation of Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy, and actually began to oversee priority national projects.

In 2005, he held the position of First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. In December 2007, he was nominated as a candidate for President of the Russian Federation from the United Russia party.

In March 2008, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev was elected to the post of President of Russia, officially taking office on May 7, 2008.

He did not seek a new term in 2012, and on May 7, 2012, the new Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma the candidacy of Dmitry Medvedev for appointment as Chairman of the Government. Deputies supported this decision.

The re-elected President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, on May 18, 2018, with the consent of the State Duma, approved the new composition of the government of the Russian Federation, headed by Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev.

Dmitry Medvedev is a big fan of information technology; he often mentions new technologies, computers, and the Internet in his speeches. Reads e-books a lot. He is interested in photography and takes a lot of pictures himself. Registered on social networks, has his own personal blog.

On the sidelines of the International Labor Conference in the Swiss capital Geneva June 11, 2019, Dmitry Medvedev met with the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union, Houlin Zhao, and the Prime Minister of Tunisia, Youssef Chahed. The Prime Minister also took part in the plenary meeting of the 108th session.

Dmitry Medvedev Awards

Knight of the highest award of the Serbian Orthodox Church - the Order of St. Sava, 1st degree

Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class (September 14, 2015) - for outstanding services to the state, great contribution to the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation

Medal "In memory of the 1000th anniversary of Kazan"

Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (July 8, 2003) - for active participation in the preparation of the Address of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly for 2003

Laureate of the Government of the Russian Federation Prize in the field of education for 2001 (August 30, 2002) - for the creation of the textbook “Civil Law” for educational institutions of higher professional education

Commemorative medal of A. M. Gorchakov (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, 2008)

Foreign awards:

Knight Grand Cross with Diamonds of the Order of the Sun of Peru (2008)

Grand Chain of the Order of the Liberator (Venezuela, 2008)

Jubilee medal “10 years of Astana” (Kazakhstan, 2008)

Order of the Star of Palestine (Palestinian National Authority, 2011)

Order of Glory (Armenia, 2011) - for a significant contribution to strengthening friendship between the Armenian and Russian peoples, strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as personal contribution to ensuring stability and security in the region

Order "Danaker" (Kyrgyzstan, 2015) - for significant contribution to the development of strategic cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Russia, as well as for strengthening comprehensive ties between the peoples of the two countries

Order of “Uatsamonga” (South Ossetia, 2018) - in recognition of “outstanding services in repelling Georgia’s aggression against the Republic of South Ossetia”, as well as for “personal contribution to the establishment of the independence of the Republic of South Ossetia”

Confessional awards

Star of the Order of St. Mark the Apostle (Alexandrian Orthodox Church, 2009)

Order of Saint Sava, first class (Serbian Orthodox Church, 2009)

Honorary academic titles:

Honorary Doctor of Law, Faculty of Law, St. Petersburg State University

Honorary Doctor of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan (2009) - for great merits and contribution to the development and strengthening of relations, friendship and cooperation between Russia and Uzbekistan

Honorary Doctor of Baku State University (Azerbaijan, September 3, 2010) - for services to the development of education and strengthening Russian-Azerbaijani relations

Honorary Doctor of Laws from Korea University (Republic of Korea, 2010)

Awards:

Laureate of the Themis Prize for 2007 in the category “Public Service” “for his great personal contribution to the development of the fourth part of the Civil Code and for his personal presentation of the bill in the State Duma”

Laureate of the International Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Peoples Award “For outstanding activities in strengthening the unity of Orthodox peoples. For the affirmation and promotion of Christian values in the life of society” named after His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II for 2009 (January 21, 2010)

Other awards:

Certificate of honor from the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (December 20, 2011) - for active and fruitful work on developing and deepening military-political cooperation within the framework of

Collective Security Treaty Organizations

Medal "Symbol of Science" (2007)

Family of Dmitry Medvedev

Father Anatoly Afanasyevich Medvedev is a professor at the Leningrad Technological Institute named after Lensovet.

Mother Yulia Veniaminovna is a philologist, taught at the Herzen Pedagogical Institute, and later worked as a guide in the museum.

Aunt (father's sister) - Svetlana Afanasyevna Medvedeva, holder of the Order of Friendship of Peoples, excellent student of education of the USSR, honored school teacher of the Russian Federation, member of the Union of Writers and Journalists of Russia, author of nine poetry collections, two of which are songs. Lives in Krasnodar.

Dmitry Anatolyevich is married. He married Svetlana Linnik in 1993, with whom he studied at the same school. My wife graduated from the Leningrad Financial and Economic Institute. He is the President of the Foundation for Social and Cultural Initiatives.

Son Ilya, born in 1995. In 2007 and 2008, under his own name, he starred in the film magazine “Yeralash” (issues No. 206 and No. 219). In the summer of 2012, Ilya Medvedev applied to three Russian universities (MSU, St. Petersburg State University and MGIMO), but finally chose the Moscow State Institute of International Relations for study.

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev. Born on September 14, 1965 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Russian statesman and political figure. Tenth Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (since May 8, 2012). Third President of the Russian Federation (2008-2012).

In 2000-2001, 2002-2008. - Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom. From November 14, 2005 to May 7, 2008 - First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, curator of priority national projects.

Father - Anatoly Afanasyevich Medvedev(November 19, 1926-2004), professor at the Leningrad Technological Institute named after Lensoveta (now St. Petersburg State Technological Institute). Descendant of peasants of the Kursk province, member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) since 1952.

Grandfather Afanasy Fedorovich Medvedev(born in 1904 in the village of Mansurovo, Shchigrovsky district, Kursk province - died on May 20, 1994) was a party worker since 1933. Participant of the Great Patriotic War, captain. In 1944, by order No. 231 dated 12/30/1944 for the 49th training division, Captain A.F. Medvedev. awarded the medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus". From 1946 to 1951 he worked as the first secretary of the district party committee of the Pavlovsky district (Krasnodar region), from 1955 to 1958 he was secretary of the Korenovsky district committee of the CPSU in the city of Korenovsk, then worked as an instructor in the Krasnodar regional committee. In 1985 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree.

Grandmother Nadezhda Vasilievna Medvedeva was a housewife, raised children: Svetlana and Anatoly, died on May 24, 1990.

Mother - Yulia Veniaminovna(born November 21, 1939), daughter of Veniamin Sergeevich Shaposhnikov and Melania Vasilievna Kovaleva. Philologist, taught at the Pedagogical Institute named after A.I. Herzen, later worked as a guide in Pavlovsk. Her ancestors - Sergei Ivanovich and Ekaterina Nikitichna Shaposhnikov, Vasily Alexandrovich and Anfiya Filippovna Kovalev - come from Alekseevka, Belgorod region. Residents of Stary Oskol also consider Dmitry Anatolyevich their fellow countryman for historical reasons: the residents of Alekseevka mainly came from Oskol during the colonization of the Wild Field.

Dmitry Medvedev was born on September 14, 1965 in Leningrad. He was the only child in a family that lived in the Kupchino district, a “dormitory area” of Leningrad (Bela Kun St., 6).

He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University named after A. A. Zhdanov in 1987 and graduate school at Leningrad State University in 1990.

Since his youth he has been fond of hard rock, mentioning Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin among his favorite bands; collects records from these and other bands (in particular, he has collected a complete collection of records from the group Deep Purple). He also listens to Russian rock bands, in particular Chaif. During his student years, he was interested in photography, was involved in weightlifting, and won a university weightlifting competition in his weight category. Member of the Komsomol since 1979.

At the university, D. A. Medvedev joined the party and remained a member of the CPSU until August 1991.

In a conversation with students of the University of the Pacific, D. A. Medvedev said that before starting legal practice, he worked as a janitor and earned 120 rubles a month, as well as a 50 ruble increased stipend.

Dmitry Medvedev did not serve in the army, however, as a student at Leningrad State University, he completed 1.5 months of military training in Huhoyamäki (Karelia).

Since 1988 (from 1988 to 1990 as a graduate student) he taught civil and Roman law at the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University, then St. Petersburg State University. Topic of the candidate's dissertation: “Problems of implementing the civil legal personality of a state enterprise”, candidate of legal sciences. One of the authors of the three-volume textbook “Civil Law”, edited by A.P. Sergeev and Yu.K. Tolstoy, wrote 4 chapters for it (on state and municipal enterprises, credit and settlement obligations, transport law, alimony obligations). He stopped teaching in 1999 due to his move to Moscow.

From 1990 to 1997 - teaching at St. Petersburg State University. At the same time, in 1990-1995, he was an adviser to the chairman of the Leningrad City Council of People's Deputies, Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak, then an expert on the Committee for External Relations of the St. Petersburg City Hall, whose chairman was Vladimir Putin.

At Smolny, Medvedev was involved in the development and execution of transactions, contracts and various investment projects. Completed an internship in Sweden on local government issues. The President of the Institute of National Strategy, Stanislav Belkovsky, characterizes Dmitry Medvedev as pliable, soft, psychologically dependent - always absolutely psychologically comfortable for Vladimir Putin. According to other people, Medvedev is “not soft at all, but very domineering.”

According to political scientist Alexei Mukhin, Medvedev made a major contribution to the defense of V.V. Putin from charges following an investigation into the activities of the Mayor’s Committee on External Relations in 1992 and which threatened Putin with the loss of his position.

In 1993 - co-founder of Finzell CJSC, owner of a 50% stake. In 1993-1998 - co-founder and director of the Ilim Pulp Enterprise corporation for legal issues, owner of a 20% stake. In 1998, he became a representative of Ilim on the Board of Directors of OJSC Bratsk Timber Industry Complex. In 1994, he co-founded the Balfort Consulting Firm CJSC.

According to a number of media reports, from 1990 to 1995 he worked as a lawyer at the St. Petersburg joint-stock insurance company Rus, headed by Vladislav Reznik.

In 1996, after Sobchak's defeat in the elections, he stopped working at Smolny.

In November 1999, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Nikolaevich Kozak; he was invited to work in Moscow by Vladimir Putin, who became the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.

In 1999-2000, after the departure of B. N. Yeltsin, he was deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation. He headed the election headquarters of V.V. Putin in the Alexander House, which previously belonged to A. Smolensky, where the center for strategic research of German Gref was then located. In June 2000, after Vladimir Putin's victory in the presidential elections, Medvedev took the post of First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration. According to political expert Stanislav Belkovsky, Alexander Voloshin and Roman Abramovich at that moment themselves proposed Medvedev’s candidacy. After Voloshin left, Medvedev took his place.

In 2000-2001 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom, in 2001 - Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom, from June 2002 to May 2008 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom.

From October 2003 to November 2005 - Head of the Russian Presidential Administration.

In April 2004, he received the status of a permanent member of the Russian Security Council.

November 14, 2005 appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation(reappointed to this position on September 24, 2007).

From July 13, 2006 to July 10, 2008 - Chairman of the Presidium of the Council for the Implementation of Priority National Projects.

On December 17, 2007, Dmitry Medvedev was nominated as a candidate for the post of President of Russia at the United Russia party congress. During the secret ballot, 478 delegates voted for Medvedev, and 1 delegate voted against.

V.V. Putin approved Medvedev’s candidacy, his official nomination as a candidate took place on December 17, 2007. Medvedev previously discussed his nomination with President Putin.

On December 20, 2007, while submitting documents to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, he announced that he would leave the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom if he was elected President of Russia, in accordance with the law.

The election headquarters of Dmitry Medvedev was headed by the head of the Presidential Administration, Sergei Sobyanin.

On March 2, 2008, he was elected to the post of President of the Russian Federation. While remaining a member of the Government, he was the elected President of the Russian Federation until the official assumption of office as President of the Russian Federation.

On March 3, 2008, President Vladimir Putin signed decree No. 295 “On the status of the newly elected President of the Russian Federation who has not taken office.” In accordance with the Constitution, D. A. Medvedev took office as President of the Russian Federation 2 months after the official summing up of the 2008 elections and 4 years after Vladimir Putin officially took office in 2004 - May 7, 2008 (at 12:00 pm minutes Moscow time).

On September 24, 2011, during the congress of the United Russia party, it was announced that Vladimir Putin would stand as a candidate in the presidential elections in 2012, and the government, if he wins, would be headed by Dmitry Medvedev. President Medvedev accepted Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's offer to lead the United Russia party in the Duma elections and stated that Vladimir Putin should run for president in 2012. The delegates gave this statement a standing ovation. Medvedev immediately responded, saying that the applause was proof of Putin's popularity among the people.

On May 7, 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted the candidacy of Dmitry Medvedev to the State Duma of the Russian Federation to obtain consent to appoint him Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.

On May 8, 2012, the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation gave its consent to Russian President Vladimir Putin to appoint Dmitry Medvedev as Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (his candidacy was supported by United Russia, LDPR and 5 deputies from the A Just Russia faction, 54 Spravorossa and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation voted against) . The Government of the Russian Federation, chaired by Dmitry Medvedev, was formed on May 8-21, 2012. The structure of the Government was approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 636 of May 21, 2012.

Dmitry Medvedev's height: 162 centimeters.

Personal life of Dmitry Medvedev:

According to media information in December 2007, Dmitry Medvedev was fond of hard rock, swimming and yoga since childhood.

Dmitry Medvedev is known as an active user of Apple products. Thus, it was reported that Dmitry Medvedev was using the Apple iPhone even when this phone had not yet been officially supplied to Russia and was not certified, and in 2010 the Russian president became the owner of an iPad, although these devices were not yet sold in Russia at that time. Also, while watching videos on the website of the President of Russia, video recordings of the President’s addresses were discovered, which contained Apple MacBook Pro laptops and a more budget version of the MacBook Black. In addition, Steve Jobs (the head of Apple) gave Dmitry Medvedev an iPhone 4 in June 2010, the day before it appeared on US store shelves.

He is known as a fan of the Zenit St. Petersburg football club, for which he has been a fan all his life.

Favorite rock band - Deep Purple.

Also, sometimes Dmitry Medvedev listens to the music of the group Linkin Park: Dmitry Anatolyevich’s son Ilya is a fan.

Medvedev is interested in photography. I started taking photographs as a child using a Smena-8M camera. Already as president, he participated in the open-air photography exhibition “The World through the Eyes of Russians”, held in March 2010 on Tverskoy Boulevard in Moscow. Today Medvedev's arsenal includes cameras from Leica, Nikon and Canon.

Medvedev himself spoke about his passion for photography: “Of course, I like to photograph people. But photographing people is not at all easy for me. After all, because of my work, it will look quite strange if at some point I run out with a camera and start photographing someone. I'm afraid people just won't understand me."

I quit smoking in my fourth year; before that, by my own admission, I smoked 5-7 cigarettes a day.

Medvedev is sympathetic to the “Dimon” appeal that has spread in the blogosphere, finding it quite mild for the Internet. Also, depending on taste preferences, classmates and fellow students can turn to him.

He married (nee Linnik) in 1989, with whom he studied at the same school. My wife graduated from the LFEI, works in Moscow and organizes public events in St. Petersburg.

Son Ilya (born 1996) starred, “having passed an honest casting,” in 2007 (issue No. 206) and 2008 (issue No. 219) in the film magazine “Yeralash” under his own name.

In the summer of 2012, it was reported that Ilya Medvedev applied to three Russian universities (MSU, St. Petersburg State University and MGIMO), but finally chose MGIMO for study. At the end of August, Ilya Medvedev was on the list of those enrolled in the International Law Faculty of MGIMO. The list notes that Ilya entered the competition on a general basis (grades for the Unified State Exam - English - 94 points, social studies - 83 points, Russian language - 87 points, additional exam - 95 points out of 100 possible).

The Medvedev family's pet, jokingly called “the country's first cat,” is a fluffy light gray Neva Masquerade cat named Dorofey. The Medvedevs have four more dogs: a pair of English setters (brother and sister - Daniel and Jolie), a golden retriever Aldu and a Central Asian shepherd dog. Medvedev's setters took first and second places in dog shows.

According to his income declaration submitted to the Central Election Commission in December 2007, Medvedev has an apartment with an area of 367.8 m²; income for 2006 amounted to 2 million 235 thousand rubles.

According to Novaya Gazeta dated January 10, 2008, since August 22, 2000, he has been registered in his own apartment with an area of 364.5 m² in an apartment building in the Golden Keys-1 residential complex at the address: Minskaya street, building 1 A, apt. 38. Also, according to Novaya Gazeta, according to data from the Unified Register of Home Owners for 2005, in Moscow Dmitry Medvedev owned another apartment at the address: Tikhvinskaya Street, building No. 4, apt. 35; total area - 174 sq. meters.

Since 2008, Medvedev and his family have been using for their summer holidays the ancient Milovka estate, reconstructed with his participation, in the town of Plyos on the Volga, which the Financial Times calls “Medvedev’s residence.”

For 2010, Dmitry Medvedev's income amounted to 3,378,673.63 rubles. There are 4,961,528.98 rubles in bank accounts. Owns a land plot in Russia with an area of 4,700 m² on a lease basis. In addition, Dmitry Medvedev owns a 1948 GAZ 20 Pobeda passenger car.

MOSCOW, May 8 – RIA Novosti. The State Duma approved the candidacy of Dmitry Medvedev for the post of Prime Minister of the country, he promised to form a government in the near future in order to quickly begin implementing the strategic decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Immediately after the State Duma meeting, Putin signed a decree appointing Medvedev as prime minister.

Medvedev was supported by 374 parliamentarians (75 more than in 2012), 56 deputies voted against, and three more legislators who registered at the beginning of the meeting did not express their point of view. The voting was open - as State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said, voters would be able to familiarize themselves with the position of each deputy.

The leader of A Just Russia, Sergei Mironov, said that his faction does not support Medvedev’s candidacy; it was previously reported that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation intended to take such a position.

“I am fully aware of both the responsibility and the difficulties that the government will face in any case, but I am confident that we will be able to solve all these tasks set by the president,” Medvedev said after the approval.

He promised that the government would be ready to work with every deputy to implement the president’s plans.

Needs no introduction

Putin, proposing a candidate for the post of prime minister, began his speech by saying that Medvedev was well known to the deputies. “Of course, Dmitry Anatolyevich needs no introduction,” the Russian leader said.

He noted that the situation over the past six years has been acute, sometimes even seeming dramatic, but the government has solved problems and increased capabilities.

The large-scale, complex work was carried out thoroughly, honestly, and responsibly, Putin said. “Everything achieved over the past years creates a solid foundation for moving forward,” he added.

The President spoke about his strategic decree, signed the day before: we are talking about an active policy of demographic development, breakthroughs in technology and science, and achieving a new quality of life for people. The targets have been set on a large scale, and the consolidation of the entire society is needed, the head of state concluded.

Putin noted that “democraticism, openness to dialogue and discussion, receptivity to substantive proposals and substantive criticism - all this became the signature, professional style of the previous government.” “And great credit for the formation of such a modern management culture belongs, of course, to Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev,” said the head of state.

According to him, it is important to ensure continuity and new dynamics in the work of the government, and “there is no time to unwind,” since the new Cabinet faces very ambitious tasks.

Putin said that for the last year and a half, Medvedev has been working on a program that the executive and legislative branches will now have to implement; the government will play a key role in this; it must be formed quickly.

Growth and customization

After Medvedev's confirmation, the Russian leader said that economic growth and adjustment of the tax system would provide additional funds to implement the strategic decree. The authorities expect to receive 300-400 billion rubles of additional revenue from small systemic measures in the tax sphere - 1.2 trillion in total. But setting up the tax system should not disrupt macroeconomic stability, Putin emphasized.

The President said that the authorities are open to proposals from all factions to form a new government.

Russia will continue to diversify the structure of its international reserves, Putin noted. He agreed with the assessments that were made about the need to “break away from the dollar” and increase economic sovereignty, because the monopoly of the American currency is unreliable and dangerous for many.

As the president said, the number of poor in the country is decreasing, but at an insufficient pace, the government must “target this poverty, fight it and win.”

Russia should not engage in self-isolation, it cannot isolate itself and be “like cucumbers in a barrel,” Putin said, it is necessary to fight for a place in the world market.

The 8 trillion challenge

In his speech, Medvedev thanked Putin for his trust, and if the appropriate decision was made, he promised to do everything for the development of our country. The state, he said, has a high goal - a breakthrough in the economy. “The one who is not afraid for his future is prosperous,” he said.

According to him, the Russian economy should give every citizen a chance to try themselves in different fields without the risk of “falling into poverty.”

The world is changing quickly, Medvedev noted, a few years ago it was different, but it’s not just about sanctions, although such measures are a failure of world politics. Russia is no stranger to living in conditions of upheaval, we have learned to do this, but now the country is at a turning point, a new base is needed for a fundamental breakthrough, he emphasized, and Russia has been and will be a significant part of the global world.

The tasks set by the president, according to Medvedev, are unprecedented in scale, and we need to work on solving them right now.

Medvedev said that it is necessary to achieve an increase in life expectancy, it is necessary to move away from restrictions that constrain the economy and business, and the general goal of the authorities should not be the nationalization of the economy.

Medvedev then moved on to a practical assessment of the implementation of the presidential decree. According to preliminary calculations, the amount of funds needed to implement the assigned tasks in the coming years will be about 25 trillion rubles, that is, 8 trillion must be added to the planned money. The economic development program until 2024 and 12 priority national projects will become the basis for the government’s step-by-step work, he said, and to implement the presidential decree, the government needs such components as clear planning, financial resources, personnel and an effectively working mechanism.

As Medvedev said, in the near future he will present to the president his proposals on the structure of executive authorities, ministers and deputy prime ministers. The already announced candidates for deputy prime ministers were previously agreed upon with the president, he explained.

Medvedev concluded his speech with the words of Anton Chekhov: “Actions are determined by their goals: a case that has a great goal is called great.”

Retirement age and party membership

The leader of A Just Russia, Sergei Mironov, asked Medvedev how he felt about the proposal to suspend membership in United Russia, so that, in the opinion of the main Socialist Revolutionary, not to violate the principle of separation of powers. “I have a negative attitude towards this,” Medvedev responded.

Other questions concerned raising the retirement age and the personal income tax rate. Medvedev said that decisions regarding the retirement age must be made, but carefully and carefully. “The government will prepare its proposals in the shortest possible time and submit them to the State Duma,” he said.

No decisions are being prepared to increase the personal income tax rate, Medvedev added.

State Duma deputies asked the candidate for prime minister eight questions, most of which related to the social sphere and the economy. Representatives of four parliamentary factions asked Medvedev two questions each. Three of them concerned the social sphere and were associated with an increase in the retirement age, the availability and quality of medicines, as well as an increase in life expectancy in Russia. The deputies were also interested in the mechanism for compensating the regions' expenses for increasing the minimum wage and increasing the personal income tax.

Parliamentarians prepared one question each on the topic of ecology, the international situation and the political system of Russia. Medvedev, in particular, was asked about the Russian Federation’s use of “soft power” in foreign policy.

Candidates and tasks

Medvedev on Monday announced plans for his deputies. The first deputy prime minister should be Anton Siluanov (who will oversee the financial and economic bloc), and the deputy prime ministers should be Tatyana Golikova (social bloc), Alexey Gordeev (agroindustrial complex), Dmitry Kozak (industry and energy), Vitaly Mutko (construction), Yuri Borisov (OPK), Olga Golodets (culture and sports), Maxim Akimov (digital economy, transport and communications) and Konstantin Chuychenko (as chief of staff). In addition, according to a RIA Novosti source in the Cabinet of Ministers, it is planned to retain Yuri Trutnev as Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President.

On Monday, a presidential decree “On the national goals and strategic objectives of the development of the Russian Federation for the period until 2024” was issued. In particular, in it, the head of state instructed to halve the poverty level in the country, ensure sustainable growth in real incomes of citizens, increase the level of pensions at least below inflation, improve the living conditions of at least 5 million families annually, and provide mortgages of 8% for families with average incomes , ensure an increase in life expectancy to 78 years, and by 2030 - to 80 years.

Biography of Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, career and achievements

Biography of Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, career and achievements, participation in elections

1. Biography

Origin

Childhood and youth

Teaching and scientific activities

Carier start

Career in Moscow

Participation in the elections of the President of Russia

2. Presidential activity of Medvedev

Election and assumption of office

Military conflict with Georgia

Analysis of the internal political situation due to the conflict

3. Economic policy of Russia under Dmitry Medvedev

Financial crisis of 2008 and the domestic political situation

Protectionist measures

4. Recession. Domestic Politics (2009)

5. 2008 Presidential Address. Constitutional Amendment Act

6. Russian foreign policy under Dmitry Medvedev

- “Medvedev Doctrine”

7. Military construction

8. Estimates of the level of corruption in the country

9. Medvedev's business

10. In the field of information technology

11. Personal life and family

Hobbies

Family and personal property

Attitude to religion

12. Criticism

13. Titles, awards, ranks

Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich - This Russian statesman and political figure, third President of the Russian Federation, elected in the elections on March 2, 2008, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Candidate of Legal Sciences.

Since November 14, 2005 - First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, curator of national projects. Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom. These positions were left by Medvedev after taking the oath of office as President of the Russian Federation.

On December 10, 2007, it was announced that his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election was proposed by the parties “United Russia”, “A Just Russia”, “Civil Force”, and the Agrarian Party of Russia and was supported by the then current President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

On March 2, 2008, having received 70.28% (52,530,712) of the votes, he was elected President of Russia. On May 7, 2008, he took office as President of Russia.

Biography

Origin

Father - Anatoly Afanasyevich Medvedev (born November 19, 1926-2004), professor at the Leningrad Technological Institute named after Lensoveta (now St. Petersburg State Technological Institute). Descendant of peasants of the Kursk province.

Mother - Yulia Veniaminovna (born November 21, 1939), daughter of Veniamin Sergeevich Shaposhnikov and Melania Vasilievna Kovaleva; philologist, taught at the Pedagogical Institute named after A. I. Herzen, later worked as a guide in Pavlovsk. Her ancestors - Sergei Ivanovich and Ekaterina Nikitichna Shaposhnikov, Vasily Alexandrovich and Anfiya Filippovna Kovalev - come from Alekseevka, Belgorod region.

Childhood and youth

Born on September 14, 1965 in Leningrad. He was the only child in a family that lived in the Kupchino district, a “dormitory area” of Leningrad.

Dmitry Medvedev maintains contact with his former school. Teacher Vera Smirnova recalled: “He tried very hard, devoted all his time to his studies. He could rarely be found on the street with the guys. He looked like a little old man." When Dmitry Medvedev entered the university, he met Nikolai Kropachev (now the rector of St. Petersburg State University), who described him as follows: “A good, strong student. He went in for sports, weightlifting. I even won something for the faculty. But according to the main course, he was the same as everyone else. Just very diligent.” On the other hand, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Oleg Morozov spoke of him as “young, energetic, it couldn’t be better.”

Neighbors of the Medvedevs recall that they behaved respectfully with them, but at some distance. They were called the professorial family. The neighbor says that Dmitry, even when he moved to another apartment, always helped his parents. And about five years ago I took him to Moscow. Anatoly Afanasyevich has now died.

In 1973, Dmitry Medvedev went to first grade at school No. 305. The boy took this event very seriously. He had rarely appeared in the yard before, but here he completely disappeared, sitting all day long on his homework. Judging by the certificate, he studied exactly in all subjects. In mathematics I always received only "A's".

Dima loved not only her subject, but also the teacher herself. I even tried to copy her handwriting. For other subjects, Dmitry also visited the “four”. The boy preferred exact sciences, but also paid attention to literature and Russian. He didn’t miss physical education, he even became the school champion in pull-ups on the horizontal bar. School teachers recall that Dmitry was distinguished by his determination.

It must be said that Medvedev was a gift for a school on the outskirts - he did not swear, did not misbehave, and studied well. But at the same time he was not considered a bore. He had many friends, and not only in his class. Medvedev met his future wife at school; she studied in a parallel class. Svetlana Linnik was from a military family. Cheerful, beautiful girl, good girl. The boys ran after her in a crowd, but the blonde Sveta chose Dima. Neighbors recall that he kissed some fair-haired girl right in the yard. Then they wondered: what happened to the quiet boy? Who knew that everything was serious!

Dmitry Medvedev graduated from the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University in 1987 and graduate school at Leningrad State University in 1990. Since his youth he has been fond of hard rock, mentioning Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin among his favorite bands; collects records from these and other bands (in particular, he has collected a complete collection of records from the group Deep Purple). He also listens to Russian rock bands, in particular Chaif. During his student years, he was interested in photography, was involved in weightlifting, and won a university weightlifting competition in his weight category. Member of the Komsomol since 1979.

In a conversation with students at the University of the Pacific, Medvedev said that before starting legal practice, he worked as a janitor and earned 120 rubles a month, as well as a 50 ruble increased stipend.

Dmitry Medvedev did not serve in the army, however, as a student at Leningrad State University, he completed 1.5 months of military training in Huhoyamäki (Karelia)

Teaching and scientific activities

Since 1988 (from 1988 to 1990 as a graduate student) he taught civil and Roman law at the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University, then St. Petersburg State University. Topic of the candidate's dissertation: “Problems of implementing the civil legal personality of a state enterprise”, candidate of legal sciences (L., 1990). One of the authors of the repeatedly reprinted three-volume textbook “Civil Law”, edited by A.P. Sergeev and Yu.K. Tolstoy, wrote 4 chapters for it (on state and municipal enterprises, credit and settlement obligations, transport law, alimony obligations). Stopped teaching in 1999 due to moving to Moscow.

Since September 2006, he has headed the International Board of Trustees of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO.

Carier start

From 1990 to 1997 - teaching at St. Petersburg State University. At the same time, in 1990-1995, he was an adviser to the Chairman of the Leningrad City Council Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak, an expert at the Committee for External Relations of the St. Petersburg City Hall. At Smolny, Medvedev was involved in the development and execution of transactions, contracts and various investment projects. Completed an internship in Sweden on local government issues. According to some evidence, at that time many people mistook him for Putin’s secretary and did not take him seriously. The President of the Institute of National Strategy, Stanislav Belkovsky, characterizes Dmitry Medvedev as pliable, soft, psychologically dependent - always absolutely psychologically comfortable for Vladimir Putin. According to other people, Medvedev is “not soft at all, but very domineering.”

According to political scientist Alexei Mukhin, Medvedev made a major contribution to Putin’s defense against charges following an investigation into the activities of the Mayor’s Committee on External Relations in 1992, which threatened Putin with the loss of his position.

Career in Moscow

In 1999, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Nikolaevich Kozak.

In 1999-2000, after the departure of B. N. Yeltsin - Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation; headed the election headquarters of V.V. Putin in the Alexander House, which previously belonged to A. Smolensky, where the center for strategic research of German Gref was then located; in June 2000, after Vladimir Putin’s victory in the presidential elections, Medvedev took the post of first deputy head of the Presidential Administration. According to political expert Stanislav Belkovsky, Alexander Voloshin and Roman Abramovich at that moment themselves proposed Medvedev’s candidacy. After Voloshin left, Medvedev took his place.

From October 2003 to November 2005 - Head of the Administration of the President of Russia. On November 12, 2003, Medvedev was appointed a member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. In April 2004, he received the status of a permanent member of the Russian Security Council.

From October 21, 2005 to July 10, 2008 - First Deputy of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the implementation of priority national projects and demographic policy, in fact began to supervise priority national projects.

On November 14, 2005, he was appointed First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (reappointed to this position on September 24, 2007), Mikhail Trinoga, with whom Medvedev worked at Gazprom and then in the presidential administration, was appointed head of his secretariat. From July 13, 2006 to July 10, 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was Chairman of the Presidium of the Council for the Implementation of Priority National Projects.

Participation in the elections of the President of Russia

On November 14, 2005, with the appointment of Dmitry Medvedev to the restored post of First Deputy Prime Minister in charge of national projects (the son of Putin’s friend Boris Kovalchuk was appointed as Medvedev’s assistant and director of the department of national projects), his election campaign de facto began on central television channels. In the same year, his election website was registered.

In February 2006, the Russian press mentioned him as the favorite (in the eyes of President V.V. Putin) of the informal presidential campaign.

In January 2007, Dmitry Medvedev was the main potential candidate for President of Russia. According to the Yuri Levada Analytical Center, 33% of voters were ready to vote for Medvedev in the first round of the presidential election, and 54% of voters in the second round.

In May 2007, Dmitry Medvedev cedes his position to another government candidate, Sergei Ivanov. According to Levada Center polls, 18% of respondents were ready to vote for Medvedev in the first round, while 19% were ready to vote for Ivanov. If Ivanov and Medvedev together reached the second round, then, according to the survey, Ivanov’s chances look preferable (55% for him).

On October 18, 2007, when Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov abolished the practice of broadcasting government meetings to journalists, the active phase of Medvedev’s election campaign began.

On December 10, 2007, V. Putin supported the candidacy of D. Medvedev for the post of President of the Russian Federation. “As for the candidacy of Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, I have known him very closely for more than 17 years, and I fully and completely support this candidacy,” commented President Putin. The parties “United Russia”, “A Just Russia”, the Agrarian Party and “Civic Force” proposed Dmitry Medvedev as their party’s only candidate for President of Russia. At the same time, according to current legislation, a presidential candidate can be officially nominated from only one political party.

On December 11, 2007, Dmitry Medvedev, in a statement broadcast on state television, said: “I am asking him to give his consent in principle to head the government of Russia after the election of a new president of our country.”

On December 20, 2007, Dmitry Medvedev notified the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation of his nomination.

The nomination of Medvedev as a candidate was supported by official representatives of a number of religious organizations: the Russian Orthodox Church, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the European Part of Russia, the Congress of Jewish Religious Communities and Organizations of Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev lost weight; for this purpose, a treadmill was installed in his office.

Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of International Economics. Peterson (The Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics) Anders Åslund argued that in light of the inter-clan struggle in the Kremlin that intensified at the end of 2007, the appointment of D. Medvedev as the only candidate from the Kremlin is by no means a foregone conclusion. He also regarded the situation that developed after Medvedev’s nomination as a candidate as “a classic situation on the eve of a coup.”

Medvedev's presidential activities

Election and assumption of office

On December 10, 2007, he was nominated as a candidate for President of the Russian Federation from the United Russia party. On the same day, Medvedev’s candidacy was supported by the parties “A Just Russia”, the Agrarian Party of Russia and the “Civic Force” party. This decision was made at a meeting in the Kremlin of President Vladimir Putin, Medvedev himself, as well as Chairman of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov, Chairman of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov and the heads of the Agrarian Party Vladimir Plotnikov and the Civil Power party Mikhail Barshchevsky. V.V. Putin approved Medvedev’s candidacy, his official nomination as a candidate took place on December 17, 2007.

The election headquarters of Dmitry Medvedev was headed by the head of the Presidential Administration, Sergei Sobyanin, who went on vacation while working there. The main themes and slogans of the campaign were:

improving the level and quality of life of the population, continuing work on priority national projects;

laying the principle “freedom is better than lack of freedom” as the basis for state policy...(speech at the V Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum “Russia 2008-2020. Managing Growth” on February 15, 2008);

following the ideas of Concept 2020 - development of institutions, infrastructure, innovation, investment, as well as cooperation and assistance to business;

the return of Russia to the status of a world power and its further development, integration into world relations, its own position on all key international issues, the widespread defense of Russian interests.

On March 2, 2008, he was elected to the post of President of the Russian Federation. While remaining a member of the Government, he was the elected President of the Russian Federation until he officially took office as President of the Russian Federation.

On March 3, 2008, President Vladimir Putin signed Decree No. 295 “On the status of the newly elected and not yet inaugurated President of the Russian Federation.” In accordance with the Constitution, Medvedev took office as President of the Russian Federation 2 months after the official summing up of the 2008 election results and 4 years after Vladimir Putin officially took office in 2004 - May 7, 2008 (at 12:09 p.m. Moscow time).

In honor of this event, on the same day a number of philatelic materials went on sale under the general title “On March 2, 2008, D. A. Medvedev was elected President of the Russian Federation,” issued by the Marka publishing and trading center.

In his inaugural speech, he stated that he considered the priority task in his new position to be “the further development of civil and economic freedoms, the creation of new civic opportunities.” He confirmed this course by signing his first decrees, which directly relate to the social sphere. In particular, the first document was a federal law providing for the provision of housing at the expense of the federal budget to all veterans of the Great Patriotic War in need of improved housing conditions until May 2010. The next decree “On measures for the development of housing construction”, as part of the modernization of the relevant infrastructure, provides for the creation of a Federal Fund for Assistance to the Development of Housing Construction. Its main goal will be to promote the development of predominantly individual residential construction: it is seen as a transitional link in the process of forming an affordable housing market and the future use of federally owned land plots as areas for subsequent development of private property. In addition, in order to promote the systemic modernization of higher professional education based on the integration of science, education and production, training of qualified personnel to meet the long-term needs of the innovative economy, the Decree “On Federal Universities” plans to continue the formation of a network of federal universities that provide a high level of educational process, research and technological developments. As part of the decree, the President instructed the Government to consider the issue of creating the Far Eastern Federal University, along with the already established Siberian and Southern Federal Universities.

According to a VTsIOM poll conducted shortly after Medvedev’s inauguration, 86% of Russians knew that he was already President; 10% considered V.V. Putin to be the President; 1% of respondents considered Medvedev the Chairman.

Military conflict with Georgia

On the night of 7–8 August 2008, Georgian troops began intensive artillery shelling of the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali and surrounding areas; A few hours later, the city was stormed by Georgian armored vehicles and infantry. As a result of the attack, more than ten Russian peacekeeping troops were killed and several dozen were wounded. The official reason for the attack on Tskhinvali, according to the Georgian side, was a violation of the ceasefire by South Ossetia, which, in turn, claims that Georgia was the first to open fire.

According to a number of reports in several Russian newspapers, as well as Georgian intelligence statements released a month later, in September 2008, separate units of the Russian 58th Army were deployed to South Ossetia starting in the early morning of August 7, 2008. However, according to Russian data, as well as reports from a number of Western media and politicians, the Georgian side's claims about the early transfer of Russian troops are false. In the evening of the same day, the Georgian and South Ossetian sides of the conflict accused each other of violating the terms of the truce.

On the morning of August 8, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, in a televised address, announced the “liberation” by Georgian security forces of the Tsinagar and Znauri districts, the villages of Dmenisi, Gromi and Khetagurovo, as well as most of Tskhinvali; he accused Russia of bombing Georgian territory, calling it “classic international aggression”; general mobilization was announced in Georgia. On the same day, South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity reported numerous casualties among civilians in South Ossetia and accused Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili of genocide of the Ossetian people.

On August 8, 2008, President Medvedev said: “Tonight in South Ossetia, Georgian troops, in fact, committed an act of aggression against Russian peacekeepers and civilians. We will not allow the death of our compatriots with impunity. The perpetrators will receive the punishment they deserve.”

Medvedev later noted: “Ultimately, for some time we still had hopes that this was still some kind of provocation that would not be carried through to the end. But at that moment, when the missile guns actually started working, the tanks started shooting, and I was informed about the death of our citizens, including peacekeepers, I did not hesitate for a minute and gave the order to defeat and respond.”

On August 9, President D. Medvedev began a meeting with Defense Minister A. Serdyukov and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces N. Makarov with the words: “Our peacekeepers and the units assigned to them are currently carrying out an operation to force the Georgian side to peace.” No information about the official document (decree or order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief) on the basis of which the 58th Army and other units began operating was made public; There was also no mention of such a document in the statements of officials. According to the statement of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel General A. Nogovitsyn dated August 9, 2008, Russia was not at that moment in a state of war with Georgia: “All units of the 58th Army that arrived in Tskhinvali were sent here to provide assistance to the Russian peacekeeping battalion, which suffered heavy losses as a result of shelling of its positions by units of the Georgian army.”

On August 12, Medvedev announced that he had decided to complete the operation to “force the Georgian authorities to peace.” On the same day, at a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, following Vladimir Putin, he called the actions of the Georgian army in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” and spoke insultingly about the leadership of Georgia.

Russia's military actions on the territory of a neighboring state caused a negative assessment and criticism from most Western states. A possible violation of Russian legislation when using the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation outside the country (Article 102 of the Russian Constitution, etc.) allowed former assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Georgy Satarov to suggest at the end of August: “Medvedev, as president, sent troops into the Georgian zone.” the Ossetian conflict without the sanction of the Federation Council is a gross violation of the Constitution. Therefore, I can propose the following plot: Putin gives Medvedev the opportunity to make a bunch of mistakes, and then arranges impeachment and organizes new presidential elections; this will not be difficult for him. If Putin were a true comrade, he would not have left Medvedev alone in this situation.”

During the Russian-Georgian armed conflict, Dmitry Medvdev met twice in an official setting with the president of unrecognized Abkhazia and once with the president of unrecognized South Ossetia. On June 26, Medvedev received the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh in the Kremlin, and on August 14 (after the end of active hostilities in Georgia) he met in the Kremlin with the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh and the President of the Republic of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity. During the meeting, Kokoity and Bagapsh signed six principles for resolving the Georgian-South Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhaz conflicts, previously developed by Medvedev and Sarkozy; The presidents of the unrecognized republics were informed that Russia would support any decision on the status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia that the peoples of these republics would make.

As it turned out in October 2008, based on an analysis of satellite images of the outskirts of Tskhinvali, additional destruction of civilian objects occurred in the period from August 10 to 19, 2008, that is, after the occupation of the city by Russian troops: hundreds of houses were burned in ethnically Georgian villages in South Ossetia.

Analysis of the internal political situation due to the conflict

The comparison between the behavior of Medvedev and Putin during the conflict in Georgia led Western observers to wonder “who is in charge in the Kremlin” and came to the answer: “The current conflict has confirmed what has become increasingly clear in recent weeks: Putin continues to be in charge.” Financial Times commentator Philip Stevens, in the issue of August 29, 2008, called Medvedev “the nominal president of Russia” (Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s notional president). The Russian Newsweek magazine dated September 1, 2008 and the Vlast magazine dated the same date came to the same conclusion. The latter also noted:

“Another noticeable consequence of the Georgian conflict can be considered the final collapse of hopes for liberalization of the internal political course that appeared among a certain part of Russian society after the election of Dmitry Medvedev as president.”

Commentators in the Russian magazine The New Times on September 1, 2008 expressed a similar assessment of the situation in the country: “Inside the country, it seems that the choice between reforms and mobilization has been made in favor of the latter. Of course, members of the ruling duumvirate believe that a third way is possible, a kind of “mobilization modernization” in conditions of “easy” isolation from key states and institutions of the Western world. And - in the absence of institutions within the country. Of course, this is an illusion."

It is noteworthy that when analyzing the political and economic situation in the country after the conflict with Georgia, Anders Aslund in his article dated September 3 never mentions D. Medvedev and speaks of V. Putin as the only leader of Russia: “August 8 stands out as a fatal day for Russia. It marks Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's greatest mistake. Putin is turning Russia into a bandit state.” Economist Judy Shelton, author of the 1989 book “The Coming Soviet Crash,” made the same point in her article “The Market Will Punish Putinism,” published in the Wall Street Journal on September 3, 2008: Putin “will face One thing to learn is that sometimes the invisible hand of the market strikes back.”

The French magazine Le Point on August 31, 2008 wrote that “in the Kremlin, as well as in the presidential office, Vladimir Putin is still called “chief”. And during the Georgian crisis, it was the Prime Minister, and not Dmitry Medvedev, who “settled” the situation.” Ekho Moskvy columnist Evgenia Albats said in September of the same year that “although Medvedev receives press attention, he looks like Putin’s press secretary.”

Former Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation (1996-1997) B. A. Berezovsky said in November 2008: “there is no tandem, there is a buffoon and a dictator, who was in power and remains. What is happening now is a great fraud."

Political scientist Liliya Shevtsova wrote in the Vedomosti newspaper on September 17: “The war between Russia and Georgia in 2008 was the last chord in the formation of the anti-Western vector of the state and at the same time the finishing touch in the consolidation of the new system. In the 90s, this system existed as a hybrid, which combined incompatible things - democracy and autocracy, economic reforms and state expansion, partnership with the West and suspicion towards it. From now on, the Russian system becomes unambiguous, and there is no longer any doubt about its qualities and its trajectory. The August events confirmed one simple truth: foreign policy in Russia has become an instrument for implementing the domestic political agenda. The August War makes it pointless to discuss the question of who rules Russia and what are the relations within the ruling Medvedev-Putin tandem. Medvedev put on Putin's jacket and became military president, and it was he who had to close the era in the country's development begun by Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Financial Times, September 20, 2008, noted what it saw as changes in the social contract between Russia's propertied class and the power faction: “Putinism was built on the understanding that if bigwigs played by the Kremlin's rules, they would prosper. Recent military adventurism has undermined this great bargain. The oligarchs suffered a major blow as a result of the market collapse; The relief package came only after concerned business elites complained to the Kremlin. After the recent shake-up, the loyalty of the oligarchs is no longer taken for granted.”

President Medvedev’s speech on September 19, 2008 in the Kremlin “at a meeting with representatives of public organizations,” according to political scientist V. Nikonov, “was addressed to groups of elites within the country” who were concerned about the prospect of militarization of public consciousness. The President, in particular, said: “No new external circumstances - and even less pressure on Russia from the outside - will change our strategic line to build a free, progressive and democratic state and society. All tasks related to economic development, expansion of entrepreneurial, creative and personal freedom will be resolved urgently, without reference to the fact that the country is in a special situation, “there are enemies around.”

According to a FOM survey conducted on August 23-24, 2008, in the opinion of 80% of Russians surveyed in various regions of the country, “modern Russia can be called a great power”; 69% believed that Russian foreign policy was “very effective”; The vast majority of survey participants - 82% - said that "Russia should strive to become the most influential country in the world." Analyzing the FOM survey data, the FT wrote on September 23, 2008: “Russian society, which overwhelmingly supported the war, has become a bastion of tough politics. Polls suggest that this could prevent the few politicians who are trying to restore ties with the West from supporting economic and political integration with the West in the interests of Western countries.”

A number of human rights activists and liberal-oriented journalists and economists, as a consequence of the Russian-Georgian conflict, noted a significant increase in government pressure on freedom of speech and restrictions on human rights activities.

Priority national projects

A special block of work is priority national projects, the activities of which, from the first days of preparation and implementation, are carried out under the leadership of Dmitry Medvedev.

Accordingly, almost all ministries are, in one way or another, connected with the implementation of national projects.

It should be noted that the system of control and management of national projects is specific to Russia in its effectiveness.

However, in addition to the administrative structures, a significant part of the control over projects is carried out personally by Dmitry Medvedev - on constant business trips around the country, regular conference calls and meetings not only with officials, but also with citizens for whom these projects are being implemented.

Dmitry Medvedev is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom, a strategic company and a leading global supplier of energy resources.

Since his arrival at Gazprom, gradual, careful, but effective work began to optimize foreign economic activities and increase the social role of the company within the country. In fact, “preferential friendly” supplies of Russian gas for next to nothing have been stopped. The company is increasingly entering into partnerships with foreign counterparties.

In addition, Gazprom is consistently implementing gasification of the country, providing access to “blue fuel” to more than 300 settlements per year.

Also, it should be noted that the company has noticeably increased activity in the social sphere.

For example, the Gazprom for Children program.

Dmitry Medvedev: “We hope that in 2006-2007, with the help of Gazprom, hundreds of sports facilities located in various regions of the country will be reconstructed. The estimated volume of investments allocated for these purposes will be about four billion rubles in 2006-2007.”

Economic policy of Russia under Dmitry Medvedev

Financial crisis of 2008 and the domestic political situation

Medvedev's public demand on July 31, 2008, to "stop creating a nightmare for business" - days after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's harsh statements to Mechel management on July 24 - were seen by some observers as being in "direct contradiction" with each other. According to B. Nemtsov on August 1, 2008, “for the first time, perhaps, the president firmly and unequivocally opposed Putin’s line.”

The magazine "Expert" D" for August 2008 wrote:

“In connection with the Mechel case, talk has begun that serious disagreements have emerged in the relations between Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin. To the point that the president can dismiss the government, which will result in a clash between two factions and a political crisis.”

After the conflict in Georgia, the Russian stock exchange experienced one of the most powerful drops in prices in the last decade. In just one day, the stock price fell almost 6 percent. Investors' biggest fear is that a new era of military confrontation between Russia and its neighbors will dawn. Meanwhile, Medvedev's ambitious reform plan has been hijacked by Putin's ambitions. When he came to power, Medvedev spoke of the need to end the Russian tradition of “legal nihilism,” extortion and corruption. Just last month, the president told Russian officials to stop “horrifying” businessmen with petty quibbles and demands for bribes. He also promised to reform the judicial system and property rights. But just as Medvedev put himself into first gear and felt more confident in his role as president, he found history grabbing him by the throat - in the form of Putin and the small, festering post-Soviet conflict that erupted into a full-scale war.

The Financial Times of September 18, 2008, in its extensive material devoted to the analysis of the Russian economy, saw the primary reason for the collapse of the Russian stock market, the liquidity crisis and capital outflow in August - September 2008 in the country's internal problems: the Russian financial sector was hit hardest by the credit crisis in the USA. For the Moscow stock exchanges and banks, the international situation aggravated the existing crisis situation, which was explained mainly by internal factors, that is, the August Russian-Georgian war.

The newspaper highlighted the milestones of the path that led to the crisis: the rise of the market in May, when, after the election of Dmitry Medvedev to the presidency, a flow of investment began to flow into the country; the appearance at the end of May of the first indicators of a future decline (an attack on the British side in the Anglo-Russian joint venture TNK-BP); the forced departure of the company's general director, Robert Dudley, from the country in July; Putin’s statement at the same time regarding the head of the Mechel company Igor Zyuzin, which served as an impetus for panic among investors; subsequent investigations by antimonopoly services against other large metallurgical companies. The finale, according to the publication, was the military campaign against Georgia: “The war in Georgia was the last straw for many. Fear of the Kremlin's capricious and capricious behavior led to a massive exodus of investors from the country; According to experts, in the first few weeks after the outbreak of hostilities, investments worth twenty-one billion dollars left Russia. Additional negative factors were the general instability of world stock markets and the fall in oil prices, on which Russia’s financial well-being depends. On September 16, Alexei Kudrin said that if oil costs less than $70 per barrel, the federal budget will come to a deficit balance.

A number of other foreign publications also assessed the situation.

On September 19, 2008, the international rating agency Standard & Poor's revised the forecast for the sovereign credit ratings of the Russian Federation from “Positive” to “Stable”; long-term credit ratings for obligations in foreign currency (BBB+) and for obligations in national currency (A- ), as well as short-term sovereign credit ratings (A-2) were confirmed.

On October 1, the head of the Russian Government, V. Putin, placed all responsibility for the financial crisis on the US government and “system”, saying: “Everything that is happening today in the sphere of economics and finance began, as is known, in the USA. This whole crisis that many economies are facing and, what is most sad, the inability to make adequate decisions is no longer the irresponsibility of specific individuals, but the irresponsibility of the system. A system that, as we know, aspired to leadership. But we see that it is not only unable to provide leadership, but is not even capable of making adequate, absolutely necessary decisions to overcome crisis phenomena.”

At the same Government meeting, it was announced that a decision had been made to sharply increase the tax burden on the wage funds of enterprises: from 2010, the unified social tax (UST) with a rate of 26% should be replaced by three insurance contributions totaling 34% of the wage fund. The decision to abolish the unified social tax caused a negative reaction from Russian business; On October 2, 2008, “Business Russia” addressed Putin with a proposal to declare a moratorium on any tax innovations until the end of the financial crisis in world markets. Director of the FBK strategic analysis department, Igor Nikolaev, noted that increasing the effective rate from 20-22% to approximately 30% is “very much”: “This is a very bad decision, problems in the stock market and in the economy as a whole are complemented by powerful disincentives. We will not only reduce the rate of economic growth, but will completely reset it next year. If it were possible to choose the worst moment to increase the tax burden, then it was chosen.”

An economic observer for NG on October 6, noting the secretive nature of the decision-making on the UST, wrote: “It is not clear why it was necessary to carry out such a painful pension reform now, in the midst of the crisis, and not two years earlier, when everything was fine.”

On October 6, 2008, there was a record drop in the entire history of the Russian stock market in the RTS index: during the day by 19.1% - to 866.39 points; in London, where trading did not stop, Russian blue chips fell in price by 30-50%).

On October 7, 2008, President Medvedev, after a meeting with the economic bloc of the government, said that the state would provide Russian banks with a subordinated loan in the amount of up to 950 billion rubles for a period of at least five years. The news did not change the general trend in the markets; Oil and gas giants (LUKOIL, Rosneft, TNK-BP and Gazprom) requested government support to pay off debt on external borrowings

On October 8, 2008, President Medvedev, speaking at the Conference on World Politics in Evian (France), outlined his thoughts on the nature and lessons of the economic crisis: in his opinion, the crisis was “led, first of all, by the economic “selfishness” of a number of countries.” He proposed a 5-point program, the first of which was: “in the new conditions, it is necessary to streamline and bring into the system both national and international regulatory institutions.” On the same day, it was reported that layoffs had begun at Russian companies - contrary to the promises of officials and analysts' forecasts, as well as the shutdown of GAZ conveyors and a reduction in the number of working days at KamAZ.

On October 9, Russian mass media reported for the first time that the crisis was “reaching the people”; Chairman of the Russian Government V. Putin, at a meeting with the parliamentary faction of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, stated that “trust in the United States as the leader of the free world and a free economy, trust in Wall Street as the center of this trust has been undermined, I believe, forever. There will be no return to the previous situation.” On the same day, the weekly Argumenty Nedeli published an article entitled “Why should V. Putin “burn out” in the fire of crisis?” expressed the point of view that, based on the need for someone to answer the question “Who is responsible for this?” and the fact that “in the last week or two in the State Duma, the Federation Council and the business community they started talking about the fact that V. Putin must be saved” (“His authority and charisma should not become a victim of the global economic crisis”), “V. It is better for Putin to entrust the post of chairman of the government and not engage in “manual management” of the financial crisis and housing and communal services,” retaining “political commanding heights in his hands as the leader of the nation and the ruling party.” According to the publication, “the search for a candidate for the position of prime minister has already begun,” in connection with which the publication named the names of State Duma Chairman B. Gryzlov and Finance Minister A. Kudrin as candidates to “become the last one.” The name of the latter also appeared in the Russian press as a possible candidate for resignation, which was called for on October 9 by the leader of the Communist Party faction at a meeting with Prime Minister V. Putin.

On the same day, in an interview with Radio Liberty, economist, former adviser to the President of Russia (2000-2005) A. N. Illarionov said, speaking about the impact of the financial crisis on the real economy: “the fact is that in the modern world everything is connected. If the person acting as the Russian president declares that he is not afraid of the Cold War, then investors, both foreign and Russian, draw the corresponding conclusion for themselves. And if he is not afraid of the Cold War, then they are. They are afraid of both a “cold” and a “hot” war, any kind of war. And they make a decision for themselves and begin to withdraw funds from the Russian Federation, from Russian projects. They believe that in a war they have a very high risk of losing everything, and they stop their projects. And indeed, this extends along the chain to the same construction market, to the mortgage, because these projects are designed for long-term payback.”

In connection with the adoption by the State Duma of a number of bills on October 10 and V. Putin’s statement that the Development Bank (Vnesheconombank), in which he is the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, will act as the operator for the placement of government funds (including funds from the National Welfare Fund of Russia) in Russian stocks and bonds, Russian Newsweek of October 13, 2008 reported that VEB is already taking shares of Russian enterprises as collateral as collateral for loans, which creates a “risk of nationalization” and redistribution of property. According to the former Chairman of the Government M. Kasyanov on October 15, 2008, “the crisis is a reason for the redistribution of property.” Entrepreneur and State Duma deputy of the fourth convocation A. E. Lebedev and political scientist A. Belkovsky also spoke about the danger of corrupt use of the scheme proposed by the government; an editorial in the FT dated October 16, 2008 also spoke of the threat of an intensification of inter-actional struggle in the ruling group and big business, which will take place at the expense of “the interests of ordinary citizens.” On October 15, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) spoke out against the government’s idea to involve the Development Bank in purchasing shares of public companies.

Commentators regarded the release from custody of former Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation S. A. Storchak on October 21, 2008, as a victory for the economic wing of the government over the “siloviki”.

The speech of the leader of the United Russia party V. Putin on November 20 at the 10th party congress with an anti-crisis economic stimulation program was regarded by some commentators as a declaration of his intention to return to the Kremlin “in the role of the savior of the nation.” Vladimir Milov assessed the measures announced by V. Putin as “imitation.”

On December 4, 2008, after a “direct line” from Prime Minister V. Putin, which some regarded as a staged act, Putin told a BBC correspondent that the next presidential elections would take place in 2012 and that his cooperation with Medvedev was an “effective tandem”; The broadcaster regarded the fact that the "direct line" was conducted by Putin (and not the President) as evidence that "Putin has hardly relinquished any real power since leaving the presidency."

According to Rosstat data published in January 2009, the scale of the fall in real disposable income of the population in December almost doubled compared to November, reaching 11.6% (compared to December of the previous year), real wages fell by 4.6% (+7.2 % in November), the average monthly growth rate of the unemployed in the 4th quarter reached 23% (compared to the same period in 2007) against 5.6% in the 3rd quarter.

Protectionist measures

In violation of international obligations (to refrain from applying protectionist measures for 12 months - paragraph 13 of the G20 Summit Declaration), adopted on November 14, 2008 by President Medvedev at the anti-crisis summit of the G20 countries, on January 12, 2009, in accordance with the resolution of the Russian government “On Amendments in the Customs Tariff for Certain Motor Vehicles,” signed on December 5, 2008 by Prime Minister V.V. Putin, new, increased customs duties on foreign-made trucks and cars imported into Russia came into force. The government's decision caused mass protests in cities of the Far East, Siberia and other regions in December 2008, which continued in early January 2009, mainly under political slogans.

On January 12, 2009, a representative of the European Commission stated that the actions of the Russian government contradict the 2004 bilateral agreement on accession to the World Trade Organization: “The European Commission seriously regrets this position.”

On January 28, 2009, in Davos, V. Putin said in his speech, in particular: “We cannot allow ourselves to slide into isolationism and unbridled economic selfishness. At the G20 summit, the leaders of the world's leading economies agreed to refrain from erecting barriers to global trade and capital flows. Russia shares these views. And even if in a crisis a certain increase in protectionism turns out to be inevitable, which, unfortunately, is what we are seeing today, then we all need to know a sense of proportion.”

Recession. Domestic Politics (2009)

According to data released in January 2009 by Rosstat, in December 2008 the fall in industrial production in Russia reached 10.3% compared to December 2007 (8.7% in November), which was the deepest decline in production over the last decade; Overall, in the 4th quarter of 2008, the fall in industrial production was 6.1% compared to the same period in 2007. On January 30, Andrei Illarionov assessed the rate of decline in November and December 2008 as “unparalleled in modern Russian economic history.”

On January 22, 2009, new calculations by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation were published, according to which Russia's GDP in 2009 will decrease by 0.2% (instead of growing by 2.4% according to the previous forecast); the forecast for a fall in industrial production in 2009 was increased to 5.7% (against a decline of 3.2% according to the previous forecast); investments in fixed capital in 2009 will decrease by 1.7% (against the previously expected growth of 1.4%). On February 17, the Ministry of Economic Development adjusted the forecast for 2009 to minus 2.2% of GDP and minus 7.4% for industry, leaving the forecast for the price of oil the same - $41 per barrel. The new version of the forecast will require another recalculation of the federal budget for 2009.

On February 16, 2008, international news agencies, in connection with Medvedev’s removal of 4 regional leaders, quoted analysts who saw in this step, as well as some others, Medvedev’s desire to get out of “Putin’s shadow.” “Izvestia” dated February 16, 2009, in its subtitle to the material on the dismissal of governors, presented the personnel decision as the will of the “prime minister,” although the article itself stated: “Medvedev demonstrates that he is not at all going to “freeze” the political elites and, over time, “Putin’s “The regional composition could easily thin out.” Analytical materials in NG dated February 19, 2009 were devoted to opinions circulating in the political environment “about some differences in the [Medvedev-Putin] tandem specifically regarding regional leaders,” as well as some other issues of personnel policy.”

“NG” dated March 2, 2009, analyzing internal documents of the Government and the Presidential Administration in connection with the “refusal to implement” by the Ministry of Finance, headed by Kudrin, the President’s instructions of October 19, 2008 to quickly change the taxation system for the coal industry (introduce a differentiated tax rate), concluded that in the conflict between Medvedev and Kudrin, Putin “non-publicly, apparently, took the side of the Minister of Finance.”

2008 Presidential Address. Constitutional Amendment Act

The announcement of the annual message of the President of Russia to the Federal Assembly, scheduled for October 23, 2008, was postponed indefinitely; it was reported that Medvedev intends to make anti-crisis amendments to it. On the same day, the media reported, citing expert opinion, that “the global financial crisis has already begun to affect the lives of Russian citizens.”

In a message to the Federal Assembly, read on November 5, 2008 in the St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace (all previous ones were read in the Marble Hall of the Kremlin), he criticized the United States and proposed amendments to the Russian Constitution (which he called “corrections of the Constitution”), which would extend the powers of the president and the State Duma up to six and five years, respectively; the president's new proposal was "received with prolonged applause." The President “warned” those “who hope to provoke an aggravation of the political situation”: “We will not allow inciting social and ethnic hatred, deceiving people and involving them in illegal actions.” According to an unnamed “source close to the presidential administration” of the Vedomosti newspaper on November 6, “the plan for extending the terms of office was formed back in 2007 under Putin” and provided for the latter’s return to the Kremlin for a longer period; the source suggested that in such a scenario, “Medvedev may resign early, citing changes to the Constitution.” Similar opinions were expressed by government sources in the Russian Newsweek magazine on November 10. V. Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said for the Vedomosti newspaper: “I see no reason for Putin to return to the presidential post next year, because in 2009 the term of the current president will continue.”

On the evening of November 7, the leader of the United Russia party, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation V. Putin, at a meeting with the leadership of the party, which was also attended by First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation V. Surkov and Chief of Staff of the Government of the Russian Federation S. Sobyanin, said: “I think that United Russia should support the position of the President, and, using its political resources, ensure the passage of the President’s proposals through the federal parliament, and, if necessary, through regional legislative assemblies.” The proposal sparked protests from the opposition and human rights activists.

On November 11, 2008, President Medvedev, in accordance with Article 134 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Article 3 of the Federal Law “On the procedure for the adoption and entry into force of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation,” submitted to the State Duma draft laws on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation: “On changing the deadline powers of the President of the Russian Federation and the State Duma" and "On the control powers of the State Duma in relation to the Government of the Russian Federation."

On November 13, 2008, some Russian media reported that, according to some State Duma deputies, at the United Russia congress on November 20 of the same year, V. Putin could join the party and become Chairman of the State Duma; The possibility of re-election to the State Duma was not excluded.

On November 14, 2008, during a discussion of draft laws on amendments, State Duma deputy Viktor Ilyukhin (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) noted: “The question arises: why today? Why such a rush? The president has another 3.5 years of rule ahead, and we must decide today on extending his powers?”

On November 18, President Medvedvev, answering questions from journalists in Izhevsk, said that he thought about the need to change the terms of office of the head of state and the State Duma several years ago; he also said: “I’ll be honest, I believe that Russia should not be a parliamentary republic, for us it’s just like death, but, nevertheless, it still strengthens the powers of the State Duma and gives additional levers of control regarding those decisions that accepted by the government."

On November 19, during the passage of amendments to the Constitution in the State Duma in the second reading, along with the Communist Party faction that voted against, the LDPR faction did not participate in the voting due to the refusal of the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation to submit constitutional initiatives of the LDPR for discussion.

On December 30, 2008, the Amendment Law was signed by Medvedev and came into force the next day.

The American organization Freedom House argued that increasing the term of presidential and parliamentary powers made Russia “an even more unfree country.”

Russian foreign policy under Dmitry Medvedev

"Medvedev Doctrine"

The primacy of the fundamental principles of international law.

Rejection of a unipolar world and construction of a multipolarity.

Avoiding isolation and confrontation with other countries.

Protecting the life and dignity of Russian citizens, “no matter where they are.”

Protecting Russia's interests in “friendly regions.”

On July 6-8, 2009, Dmitry Medvedev held talks with Barack Obama during his official working visit to Moscow. During the visit, bilateral agreements were signed, including on the transit of American military cargo to Afghanistan through Russian territory, and guidelines for the reduction of strategic offensive weapons were outlined.

In September 2009, the Barack Obama administration announced its decision not to deploy missile defense (BMD) systems in the Czech Republic and Poland. Although it was stated that this decision was not related to Russia's position of concern about these prospects, this decision created favorable conditions for Dmitry Medvedev's visit to the United States, scheduled for September 22, 2009. During bilateral negotiations between Presidents Medvedev and Obama on September 24, the Russian side agreed with that "sanctions may be applied to Iran if it does not agree to curtail its nuclear program." Dmitry Medvedev also announced that a new nuclear arms reduction treaty could be ready by December 2009, and that a decision had been made to abandon the deployment of missile systems in the Kaliningrad region

On August 26, 2008, Dmitry Medvedev signed the decrees “On recognition of the Republic of Abkhazia” and “On recognition of the Republic of South Ossetia”, according to which the Russian Federation recognized both republics “as a sovereign and independent state” and pledged to establish diplomatic relations with each of them and conclude an agreement of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. Russia's recognition of the independence of Georgian regions caused condemnation from most Western countries; was not supported by any other CIS state.

Five days later, on August 31, 2008, in an interview with three Russian television channels in Sochi, Medvedev announced five “positions” on which he intends to build the foreign policy of the Russian Federation. The first of the “positions” he named read: “Russia recognizes the primacy of the fundamental principles of international law that determine relations between civilized peoples.” The fifth “position” proclaimed: “Russia, like other countries in the world, has regions in which there are privileged interests. These regions contain countries with which we traditionally have friendly, good-hearted, historically special relations. We will work very carefully in these regions and develop such friendly relations with these states, with our close neighbors.” The Italian newspaper La Repubblica of September 3, in its article “New Yalta: Today's rulers and spheres of influence,” interpreted Medvedev’s latest “position” as Russia’s claim to a zone that “extends to part of the former Soviet territories in which Russian minorities live.” The day before this article, Dmitry Medvedev expressed his attitude towards the leadership of the Republic of Georgia: “As for the Georgian authorities, for us the current regime is bankrupt, President Mikheil Saakashvili does not exist for us, he is a “political corpse.”

In his September 10, 2008 Wall Street Journal article “Ukraine Could Be Russia's Next Target,” Leon Aron, director of the Russia Studies Program and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, believed that Russia's “invasion and ongoing occupation of Georgia” is not an isolated incident. , but "the first manifestation of a different and deeply troubling doctrine of national security and foreign policy." In Newsweek magazine on September 1 of that year, Joseph Joffe, a senior fellow at Stanford's Institute for International Studies, wrote about the Kremlin's new foreign policy under President Medvedev:

“Forty years ago, the Brezhnev Doctrine declared: “Socialist countries cannot cease to be socialist,” and this became the pretext for the invasion that crushed the Prague Spring. Will we now get Putin’s doctrine: “what belonged to Russia cannot cease to belong to it”?”

As a result of Moscow’s conflict with Washington over Georgia, according to observers, “Moscow’s foreign policy activity has noticeably shifted towards Latin America.” The visit of the Russian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin in mid-September 2008 pursued not only issues of economic cooperation, but also the development of allied relations with Venezuela and Cuba, which, from Moscow’s point of view, “will be a worthy response to the activation of the United States in the post-Soviet space. » The Vedomosti newspaper on September 18 quoted the opinion of a Russian expert: “The development of military cooperation with Venezuela is Moscow’s response to American support for Georgia.”

On September 18, 2008, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a speech on US-Russian relations at the Washington office of the German Marshall Fund, saying, in particular: “Russia’s invasion of Georgia has not achieved and will not achieve any lasting strategic goal. The United States and Europe must stand up to this type of behavior and anyone who encourages it. For the sake of our future—and for the sake of the future of the Russian people, who deserve better relations with the rest of the world—the United States and Europe must not allow Russian aggression to bear fruit. Neither in Georgia nor anywhere else. Already, Russia's leadership is seeing hints of what the future could be if they persist in their aggressive behavior. In contrast to Georgia's situation, Russia's international reputation is worse than at any time since 1991. And we are charting a dreamed future with our friends and allies in the Americas, from which we were sometimes removed during the Cold War. Russia's anachronistic display of its military power will not reverse this course of history. Russia is free to determine its relations with sovereign countries. And they are free to determine their relations with Russia - including the countries of the Western Hemisphere. But we are confident that our ties with our neighbors, who strive for better education and health care, better jobs, and better housing, will not be undermined by a few aging Blackjack bombers visiting one of the few Latin American autocracies that itself is being left behind in an increasingly peaceful, prosperous and democratic hemisphere."

Medvedev’s answer in absentia to the US Secretary of State, according to observers, was some of the theses of his speech, which he delivered the next day in the Kremlin “at a meeting with representatives of public organizations,” at which he accused NATO of provoking a conflict in the Caucasus and the United States of interfering in internal affairs. affairs of Russia, saying, in particular: “the relevance of concluding a large European treaty after the events in the Caucasus is becoming increasingly higher. And this is understood even by those who in behind-the-scenes conversations, in personal conversations with me, said that nothing of this is needed: NATO will provide everything, NATO will solve everything. What did NATO decide, what did it provide? It only provoked a conflict, nothing more. I open my “favorite” Internet this morning and see: our American friends say that we will continue to provide support to teachers, doctors, scientists, trade union leaders, and judges in the Russian Federation. The last one was simply something outstanding for me. What does this mean, are they going to feed our judges or will they support corruption? And when it comes to joint programs, they are usually implemented with those countries with which there is a close perception of the main world processes. Otherwise, if things continue like this, they will soon be selecting presidents for us.”

On October 2, 2008, during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the St. Petersburg Dialogue forum, he again spoke out for the creation of a “new legally binding treaty on European security.” Touching on the topic of the global financial crisis, he expressed the opinion that “the system that has developed today does not fulfill any tasks to maintain the international financial system in a balanced state.” Medvedev also emphasized the impossibility of returning the world to the Cold War.

On October 8, 2008, speaking at the World Policy Conference in Evian (France), he criticized the global foreign policy pursued by the US government “after September 11, 2001” and after the “overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan,” when, in his opinion, “a series of unilateral actions began,” noting, in particular: “Then, unfortunately, due to the desire of the United States of America to “confirm” its global dominance, a historical chance to de-ideologize international life and build a truly democratic world order was missed. NATO expansion is being carried out with some special passion. Today, the admission of Georgia and Ukraine to NATO is being actively discussed. The Alliance is bringing its military infrastructure closer to the borders of our country and is drawing new “dividing lines” in Europe - now along our western and southern borders. And it is quite natural, no matter what they say, that we consider these actions as actions directed against us.”

The speech contained “specific elements” of a new European Security Treaty, which, according to Medvedev, is designed to “create a unified and reliable system of comprehensive security.”

In his message to the Federal Assembly, read on November 5, 2008, for the first time he voiced specific measures that he “means to take, in particular, to effectively counter the new elements of the global missile defense system persistently imposed by the current US administration in Europe”: refusal to liquidate three missile regiments, intention to deploy Iskander missile systems in the Kaliningrad region and carry out electronic suppression of the American missile defense system. Medvedev's statements drew criticism from the US government and other NATO member countries; Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, in part: “I would not attach too much importance to this type of declaration.” Moscow's military plans were also criticized by the European Union and Western media, some of which perceived them as a challenge to the elected US President Barack Obama. Observers who wrote about Medvedev's statements as "an attempt to publicly blackmail Obama" noted that by doing so Moscow was making it much more difficult for him to abandon plans to deploy a missile defense system. In this regard, political scientist A. Golts suggested that Medvedev “most likely pursued the goal of maximally complicating and aggravating the already tense relations between Russia and the United States in the days after Obama’s election,” which is beneficial for the Russian “siloviki” party.

On November 13, 2008, while in Tallinn at a meeting of NATO defense ministers, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates rejected Medvedev’s earlier proposal to abandon the deployment of missiles on Russia’s western borders, subject to the non-deployment of US missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic; Gates also, in particular, stated: “To be frank, I am not sure what the missiles in Kaliningrad will be needed for. In the end, the only real future threat on Russia's borders is Iran, and I think that Iskander missiles cannot reach Iran from there. This issue, obviously, is between us and the Russians. Why they threaten to target European countries with missiles is a mystery to me." The day before, Gates assured colleagues from the Baltics, Ukraine and other neighboring countries of Russia that America firmly guards their interests.

On November 15, 2008, President Medvedev at the G20 summit in Washington proposed a complete restructuring of all institutions of the financial system; the new structure, according to the President of the Russian Federation, should be “open, transparent and uniform, effective and legitimate”; also made a number of other proposals in his speech. In connection with Medvedev’s speeches in Washington, Ekho Moskvy radio columnist Yu. Latynina wrote on November 17: “What did Medvedev say in Washington? There is no point in discussing this. What happened in Washington was that we were kicked out of the G8. Under Yeltsin, the “seven” was expanded to the “eight”, but after the doctor at Mechel, the tanks in Georgia and the bursting of the Russian bubble, we were not invited to the “seven” meeting, but were invited to the “twenty” meeting, together with South Africa, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia Arabia. We were miserably expelled for poor academic performance, but were invited to the general meeting. What can you expect from a student who has been expelled for academic failure? That he will stand up and say: “I’ll get better at math.” And he stood up and said: “I have an idea on how to reorganize the work of the dean’s office.” This is so funny that I have a suspicion that they are making a buffoon out of Medvedev on purpose.”

On December 4, 2008, at a meeting of the Council of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Helsinki, official representatives of the United States and Britain rejected the initiative put forward by Medvedev in July of the same year to create a new pan-European security architecture, citing the adequacy of existing structures.

In connection with the inauguration of US President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, Russian-American political scientist Nikolai Zlobin noted in Vedomosti on January 28, 2009: “Obama’s foreign policy will not be based on personal psychology, likes and dislikes, as it was Texan Bush, including friendship with Putin. Obama will not accept the style of “boyish” relations and norms in politics. He will carry it out based on rational calculations, and not on emotions and “concepts.”

In connection with the meeting of G7 finance ministers held in Rome on February 13 - 14, 2009, to which A. Kudrin was invited, a Reuters report stated that Moscow’s previous ambitions regarding the G7 were undermined by the crisis and falling oil prices.

At the beginning of March 2009, intrigue was created in the Russian and American press around a letter sent earlier by US President Obama to Medvedev, declared “secret” by the New York Times, which allegedly contained a proposal for some kind of “exchange”, which could include the refusal of the new US administration from deployment of missile defense in Europe. On March 3 of the same year, Medvedev, commenting on his exchange of messages with the US President, said: “If we talk about any exchanges or exchanges, I can tell you that the question is not raised in this way, it is unproductive.” A similar point of view was expressed by President Obama. An editorial in the FT on March 7, listing a number of symbolic concessions made to Russia by the new US administration, targeted Prime Minister Putin, concluding: “The world wants to know whether Vladimir Putin wants to remain an unpredictable and irrational figure, or whether he is a grown man.” , who is truly committed to solving the world's big problems."

Military construction

In September 2008, the government decided to adjust the 3-year budget in terms of a significant increase in military spending: the increase in defense spending in 2009 will be the most significant in the modern history of Russia - almost 27%.

Military expert V. Mukhin believed at the beginning of October 2008 that, despite the increase in military spending, “no money has been included in the next three-year budget for the modernization of the army.”

One of the “parameters” of the formation of the new Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, according to the concept approved by the President on September 15, 2008, for the period until 2012 should be the creation of Rapid Reaction Forces.

On September 8, 2008, Defense Minister A. Serdyukov announced that the size of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation would be reduced to 1 million people by 2012 - from 1 million 134 thousand 800 people; It was previously reported that a significant reduction in the central apparatus of the Ministry of Defense, including key departments of the General Staff, had begun. The minister put forward the task: “now the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will consist primarily of units of constant readiness.”

On October 14, 2008, Minister of Defense A. Serdyukov detailed the upcoming reforms: there will be a significant reduction in the number of senior and senior officers with a simultaneous increase in the number of junior officers, a reorganization of the management structure and a radical change in the military education system. In particular, “to improve the operational command and control of troops,” a transition from the traditional four-tier structure (military district-army-division-regiment) to a three-tier structure (military district-operational command-brigade) is envisaged. The number of generals should be reduced from 1,100 to 900 by 2012; the number of junior officers (lieutenants and senior lieutenants) will increase from 50 thousand to 60 thousand. On November 1, 2008, State Duma deputies from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation turned to Medvedev with a demand to abandon the proposed concept of reform of the armed forces, calling it “an expensive and ill-conceived personnel reform”; State Duma deputy, leader of the Movement in Support of the Army Viktor Ilyukhin said: “We are convinced: this is the final stage of the destruction of the armed forces.”

On November 29, 2008, the Kommersant newspaper reported that on November 11 of the same year, Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov signed a directive “On preventing the disclosure of information on the reform of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”; the publication also referred to its “sources in the Ministry of Defense”, testifying that the dismissal report was submitted by the head of the GRU, Army General V.V. Korabelnikov, as well as a number of other high-ranking generals. Information about the dismissals was refuted on the same day by the acting head of the press service and information of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Colonel A. Drobyshevsky

“Rossiyskaya Gazeta” dated January 22, 2009 argued that the perestroika that began in the army “was unknown to either Soviet or Russian history” and that, in essence, “we are creating completely new Armed Forces.”

On March 17, 2009, Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, speaking at an extended meeting of the board of the Russian Ministry of Defense with the participation of President D. A. Medvedev, stated that the Concept for the development of the Armed Forces management system for the period until 2025 had been approved; Medvedev in his speech, in particular, said that “on the agenda is the transfer of all combat units and formations to the category of constant readiness.”

On March 18, 2009, it was reported that the Chief of the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valentin Korabelnikov, had his term of military service extended by one year; also, reports were again denied that General Korabelnikov allegedly wrote a report asking to be dismissed from the Armed Forces as a sign of disagreement with cuts in military intelligence; his absence from the extended meeting of the Ministry of Defense board held the day before with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation was explained by the fact that he was on vacation. Korabelnikov was relieved of his post and dismissed from military service by Presidential Decree No. 399 of April 14, 2009.

Estimates of the level of corruption in the country

According to the 2008 report of the international anti-corruption non-governmental organization Transparency International, published on September 23, 2008, Russia is one of the countries with high levels of corruption; In 2008, Russia took 147th place in the ranking (the level of corruption was assessed on a ten-point scale, with ten points being the lowest level) - its index was 2.1 points, which is 0.2 points less than last year, when the country ranked 143rd. Top Russian officials in September 2008 gave similar assessments of the level of corruption in the country.

Speaking at a meeting of the Anti-Corruption Council on September 30, 2008, President Medvedev said in his opening remarks, in particular: “Corruption in our country has acquired not just large-scale forms, a large-scale character, it has become a familiar, everyday phenomenon that characterizes life itself in our society. »

Medvedev's business

In 1993, he was one of the founders of the Finzell company, which soon itself established Ilim Pulp Enterprise CJSC, one of the giants of the Russian timber business. In the new company, Medvedev became director of legal affairs. At the same time, Medvedev owned 50% in Finzell CJSC, and 20% in Ilim Pulp Enterprise.

In 1998, he joined the board of directors of one of the largest enterprises owned by the company, the Bratsk Timber Processing Plant.

After leaving for the presidential staff, Medvedev, according to political scientist Belkovsky, retained a significant stake in Ilim Pulp Enterprise CJSC. He also actually saved the company from attacks by Deripaska, who wanted to gain control over it, but part of the company (Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill) was lost. On the other hand, former deputy general director of BLPK2 for public relations, Sergei Bespalov, stated that “according to his information, Medvedev does not have any shares in Ilim Pulp.”

In the field of information technology

In general, Medvedev is a big fan of information technology and often talks about computers and the Internet in his speeches.

First computer

The first computer in Medvedev’s life was a Soviet M-6000 computer the size of a furniture wall, when he worked for his father at the Technological Institute, as a 1st-year evening student at the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University.

Until now, Dmitry Medvedev has not been registered on any social network, but he has his own personal blog. He is the first Russian president to begin communicating with the people through a video blog, which initially was not, in fact, a blog, since the blog implies a debate between the reader and the author, and on Medvedev’s blog it was not possible to leave either video responses or text comments. Later, after the creation of a separate website blog.kremlin.ru, the ability to add comments was added, but comments are pre-moderated before being posted on the blog.

There is a “Dmitry Medvedev blog” on LiveJournal, which is a broadcast account from the official video blog of the President, while LiveJournal users have the opportunity to discuss Medvedev’s videos and text messages.

In addition to the blog and the government website kremlin.ru, Medvedev has three websites: medvedev-da.ru, d-a-medvedev.ru and the website of the presidential candidate medvedev2008.ru. The domain for the latter was registered back in 2005 (after the opening of the website http://putin2004.ru as part of V.V. Putin’s election campaign, buyers registered many domains containing the names of members of the Russian government and the date of the next presidential election) and was closed in 2009 g., he also has a personal website.

Dmitry Medvedev and free software

Attitude to current issues in the life of the online community

D. Medvedev considers the creation of a “hypertext vector Fidonet”, which has been developed by Sergei Sokolov for a long time, to be an urgent task in the IT field.

The association of Dmitry Medvedev with Medved from the Preved meme has become a meme on the Runet, and cartoons and “photographs” on this topic are widespread. When asked about his attitude towards Internet subcultures, in particular, the language of bastards, Medvedev replied that he was well acquainted with the phenomenon and believed that it had a right to exist. In addition, Medvedev noted that "Medved is a popular internet character, and it is impossible to ignore the needs of learning the Albanian language."

Personal life and family

Hobbies

According to media information in December 2007, Dmitry Medvedev was fond of hard rock, swimming and yoga since childhood.

Dmitry Medvedev is known as an active user of Apple products. It was reported that Dmitry Medvedev uses an Apple iPhone, despite the fact that this phone was not officially supplied to Russia and was not certified. Dmitry Medvedev's first phone was a Siemens A35, which his wife gave him. Also, while watching videos on the website of the President of Russia, video recordings of the President’s addresses were discovered, which contained Apple MacBook Pro laptops and a more budget version of the MacBook Black.

Known as a fan of the professional football club Zenit St. Petersburg. Favorite rock band Deep Purple.

Also, sometimes Dmitry Medvedev listens to the music of the group Linkin Park: Dmitry Anatolyevich’s son Ilya is a fan.

Family and personal property

He married Svetlana Linnik in 1993, with whom he studied at the same school. My wife graduated from the LFEI, works in Moscow and organizes public events in St. Petersburg.

According to his income declaration submitted to the Central Election Commission in December 2007, he has an apartment with an area of 367.8 square meters. m; income for 2006 amounted to 2 million 235 thousand rubles.

According to Novaya Gazeta dated January 10, 2008, since August 22, 2000, he was registered in his own apartment with an area of 364.5 square meters. m. in an apartment building in the residential complex “Golden Keys-1” at the address: Minskaya street, building 1 A, apt. 38. Also, according to Novaya Gazeta, according to data from the Unified Register of Home Owners for 2005, in Moscow Dmitry Medvedev owned another apartment at the address: Tikhvinskaya Street, building No. 4, apt. 35; total area - 174 sq. meters.

According to the website vsedoma.ru dated September 18, 2008, the Medvedevs actually lived in the Gorki-9 presidential residence, which was previously occupied by Boris Yeltsin and his family.

Even now, the Medvedev family still goes to the cinema together.

But Dmitry Medvedev does not have time for holidays such as Valentine’s Day: this year he celebrated it on a working trip to Novosibirsk. It looks like the same story may repeat itself on March 8 - on this day German Chancellor Angela Merkel promises to visit the Kremlin.

Dmitry and Svetlana studied at different institutes: he learned the basics of law at Leningrad State University, she gnawed at the granite of accounting at the Leningrad Financial and Economic Institute. Voznesensky. Already in her first year, Svetlana transferred to the evening department and, in parallel with her studies, worked in her specialty. And two years after graduation, in 1989, Linnik and Medvedev got married, and quite unexpectedly for many.

Like many young families in our country, the Medvedevs had the opportunity to share the same apartment with their parents for several years. We settled with the Linnikovs - they had a larger apartment. By the way, Svetlana’s parents are military personnel. Medvedev was then finishing his Ph.D. dissertation and was already working in the Leningrad administration - in the committee for external relations.

In 1996, the Medvedevs had a son, Ilya. Last fall, after visiting the Moscow Regional Perinatal Center in Balashikha, Medvedev, in an unexpected outburst of frankness, told reporters about this long-standing event: “I consider it justified if a man supports a woman during childbirth, although I was not present there. It seems to me that this is biologically correct ".

After maternity leave, Svetlana did not return to work. “The normal logic of a man who wants to have a strong and reliable rear behind him. Of course, from time to time Sveta started conversations: they say, it would be nice to find some additional activity, but I explained that for the family, in my opinion, it would be better if the wife stayed at home,” Medvedev later said.

Having become the curator of national projects, Dmitry Medvedev has repeatedly said that a family should have several children. Does the Russian President intend to stop there or does the family plan include a second child? “Like every normal person, this topic remains open to me,” Dmitry Medvedev once said.

Svetlana helped her husband’s successful career a lot. Thanks to her natural charm, she easily acquired contacts that were later useful to Dmitry Medvedev in life and work. According to rumors, being a friend of the wife of the co-owner of a timber processing company, Svetlana hired her husband into this business.

Despite the lack of an official position and salary, Svetlana Medvedeva is a busy person. She heads the board of trustees of the targeted comprehensive program “Spiritual and moral culture of the younger generation of Russia,” created with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II. This implies the creation of Orthodox shelters for orphans, the organization of pilgrimage trips and other godly things. Svetlana Medvedeva personally patronizes boarding school N1 in St. Petersburg, where 316 children diagnosed with mental retardation live.

Recently, Svetlana Vladimirovna was dedicated to the Knights of the Women's Order of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Euphrosyne of Moscow.

Svetlana Medvedeva follows fashion and always looks good. Her style is elegant business suits, and her favorite couturier is Valentin Yudashkin. Worn only in Russia.

The new president's wife also attends social events - at Alla Pugacheva's housewarming party, for example, or at Haute Couture Week.

It is not surprising that such an energetic and charming lady, according to many, has considerable influence on her husband. They say that it was Svetlana who contributed to the fact that Dmitry Medvedev recently lost extra pounds and became quite fresh. His wife asked him to learn yoga and brought him to the gym and swimming pool. This had an extremely positive effect on the politician’s image.

Attitude to religion

According to his pre-election interview, Dmitry Medvedev received Orthodox baptism at the age of 23 by his own decision “in one of the central cathedrals of St. Petersburg”, after which, as he believes, “a different life began for him...”.

According to the Union of Orthodox Citizens, Dmitry Medvedev is a church-going Orthodox Christian.

His wife, Svetlana Medvedeva, is the head of the board of trustees of the targeted comprehensive program “Spiritual and moral culture of the younger generation of Russia,” which is led by Hieromonk Cypria.

While in Kazan in November 2007, Dmitry Medvedev said: “Increasing religious education is the task of the state, religious associations, and the domestic education system.” There he expressed support for “the proposal to grant religious educational institutions the right to accredit their educational program according to state standards.” He expects that the new composition of the State Duma will, as a matter of priority, adopt a law on state accreditation of educational programs for non-state, including religious, educational institutions. Also in Kazan, he supported the proposal of representatives of Muslim organizations to grant leaders of traditional faiths in Russia the right to speak on federal television channels.

Criticism

Almost all national projects curated by Medvedev were criticized.

As part of the national project “Affordable Housing”, originally intended to solve the housing problem of the poor, business and premium class housing will also be built for Russian business (projects “Horse Lakhta”, “A101”, “Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe”, "Northern Valley")

Some members of the opposition, such as Andrei Illarionov, consider Medvedev an illegitimate president, since the 2008 presidential elections, in their opinion, were not elections, but a special operation.

Medvedev initiated amendments to the Federal Law “On Basic Guarantees of the Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation”, prohibiting minors from staying in public places at night. According to some analysts, this norm conflicts with Art. 27 of the Russian Constitution, which asserts the right of a Russian citizen to free movement, choice of place of stay and residence; on the other hand, according to, in particular, P. Astakhov, such restrictions are permissible if there is a threat to health and morals.

Even this law actually exists only on paper, and is not really controlled or enforced by regulatory and supervisory authorities. On September 6, 2008, decree No. 1316 “On some issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation” liquidated the Department for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism, as well as the entire regional system of Organized Crime Control. According to some experts, a blow was dealt to the fight against organized crime.

On June 24 - July 15, 2009, the State Duma adopted in three readings the presidential bill of the federal law “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation” (on the issue of strengthening criminal liability for crimes against the life, health and sexual integrity of minors). This law has loopholes to mitigate the punishment for pedophiles; the older the minor, the softer the punishment for pedophiles. Medvedev wanted to make punishments for pedophiles even more lenient. On July 18, the Federation Council approved the bill, and on July 27, the president signed it. In general, Art. 134 and Art. 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation presuppose the voluntary consent of a minor, otherwise the norms of Art. 131-133 apply. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the communists' criticism of the "rapist lobby" is unfounded.

Excellent command of oratory and speech. He beautifully and excitingly knows how to describe ways to solve economic and social problems, and ways of developing Russia. But Russia has not achieved positive results in the economy and social sphere as of the beginning of 2010.

Central (state) television channels began to always cover the actions of D.A. Medvedev from a positive side. and Putin V.V. State media more often talk about V.V. Putin and the United Russia party than about D.A. Medvedev. Reviews from state television channels about significant parties and leaders who do not agree with the current state of affairs in the country and the authorities (for example, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation) are, as a rule, covered from the position of a negative attitude towards them. Against this background, private and relatively independent television channels, such as REN TV, often criticize the actions of the president and the leading party of the government, United Russia, even accusing them of corruption. On the basis of which we can conclude that unofficial censorship has been introduced on state television channels against criticism of the actions of the government and the majority party "United Russia". Also, state television channels are conducting intensive PR for the current government in order to maintain its high popularity. Most likely, when Medvedev D.A. When the term of office of the President of Russia ends, the position of the current President will again be occupied by V.V. Putin. (or another “heir” of the current government, whom the state media will point out to citizens). The existing propaganda coming from the media will not allow the majority of Russian voters to make an objective choice.

Titles, awards, ranks

Dmitry Medvedev became a holder of the highest award of the Serbian Orthodox Church - the Order of St. Sava, 1st degree.