Dmitry Medvedev: the youngest and most advanced Russian President

Family

Dmitry Medvedev’s father was a descendant of Kursk’s peasants; his mother’s relatives lived in Alexeevka city (Belgorod region). Russian President once admitted Alexeevka is one of the most important places for him:

“Honestly I’ve never been there but as far as I know there are some relatives there, some with family name of Kovalev, some — Shaposhnikov (the last one is the name of my grandfather),” Russia’s leader said.

Dmitry as he says had a happy childhood in a trouble-free family. He was the only child. They lived in a standard labour district Kupchino in Leningrad. The father – Anatoly Afanasyevich Medvedev – was a professor of Leningrad’s Institute of Technology (he died in 2004); the mother – Julia Veniaminovna – was a philologist, she taught Russian language and literature in Gertsen’s teachers college, also she guide in a museum.

Childhood dreams

Dmitry Medvedev really liked chemistry in school, so he dreamed of becoming a chemist. Later he changed his mind for teaching.

“At the end I became a teacher for a bit when I started working in the University,” kremlin. ru invokes Medvedev.

Education

Medvedev has a diploma of Leningrad’s state University (Law College) and in 1990 future Russian President got his PhD for the work named “The problems in realization of civil subjective laws at a state plant”.

Academic degree

PhD, associate professor

Army

Dmitry Medvedev did not do his military service, but studied 1.5 month army course in Huhtamaki (Karjalan).

Career

In 1990—1999 Medvedev read civil and Roman law lectures in Saint Petersburg State University. At the same time (1990—1995) he was an adviser for the Leningrad city Council chairman Anatoly Sobchak and an expert for Saint Petersburg foreign affairs Committee.

He stopped teaching in 1999 because he moved to Moscow as he became a deputy for Russia government Office’s head, and then he got promotion and became a deputy of Russia President Office’s head.

On the 15th of October, 2000, Dmitry Medvedev took the lead of Putin’s election campaign headquarters. Since 2000 he was the first deputy of Russia President Office’s head. He also worked for Gazprom as the Chairman’s deputy and the Board of management’s chairman.

In October 2003 Dmitry Medvedev was assigned to lead the President Office.

In November 2005 he became the first deputy of the Prime Minister.

In May 2006 he headed the TV development Committee.

On the 2nd of March, 2008, Medvedev was elected as Russian President.

Also

• Russian Law Union general committee’s member
• the Head of the “Russia’s lawyers Conference” school board
• Russian Active State Advisor 1st class
• Russian government prize winner (in a group of authors) for the law colleges book “Civil laws” in 2001

Spouse

Svetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva. She is a Finance academy’s graduate, works in Moscow, also participates in St. Petersburg’s public events. They met in the school and get married in 1989.

Kids

Son, Ilia (1995).

Hobby

• sport (rowing, gym)
• reading (Chekhov, Bunin & Dostoevsky are the favorites)
• photo
• rock music (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple & Led Zeppelin are the favorites; he has a full Deep Purple records collection, for example). He also likes Russian rock, e. g. Chaif
• soccer
• swimming

By the way

Russia President Dmitry Medvedev is the youngest ever Russia’s leader (e. g. Soviet period) after 1917 when 36-years A. Kerensky lead the Provisional government. Medvedev is the third Russia President (1—2: Eltsin, Putin), the forth country head named Dmitry (1—3: Dmitry Donskoy, Dmitry Shemyaka and “false” Dmitry the First). He is the 5th leader who is a lawyer (1—4: Kerensky, Lenin, Gorbachev and Putin – all of them got a diploma at the same University).

Also when Dmitry Medvedev became the president it confirmed a 183-year story of “bold-then hairy” leaders in Russia.

Russian version