Here’s a look at the life of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Personal:
Birth date: September 14, 1965
Birth place: Leningrad, U.S.S.R. (now St. Petersburg, Russia)
Birth name: Dmitry Anatolyvich Medvedev
Father: Anatoly Medvedev, a chemistry professor
Mother: Yulia Medvedev, professor of Russian and tour guide
Marriage: Svetlana (Linnik) Medvedeva (1989-present)
Children: Ilya
Education: Leningrad State University, law degree, 1987; Leningrad State University, Ph.D. in law, 1990
Religion: Russian Orthodox
Other Facts:
Grew up listening to black-market copies of seventies rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.
During college worked in construction and as a street cleaner.
Timeline:
1990-1999 – Teaches law at Leningrad State/St. Petersburg State University.
1990-1999 – Private law practice.
1991-1995 – Works as a legal consultant to the St. Petersburg office of external affairs. The office is headed by Vladimir Putin.
1999 – Deputy Chief of Staff for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
2000 – Runs Putin’s election campaign.
2000-2001 and 2002-2008 – Chairman of Gazprom, a state-run natural gas monopoly.
2003-2005 – President Putin’s chief of staff.
2005-2008 – First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
December 10, 2007 – Putin endorses Medvedev’s nomination as the United Russia Party’s candidate for the 2008 presidential elections.
December 11, 2007 – Says he will name Putin as his prime minister if elected.
March 2, 2008 – Is elected president of Russia with an estimated 70 percent of the vote.
May 7, 2008 – Is inaugurated as president of Russia in a ceremony held at the Kremlin.
August 26, 2008 – Recognizes the independence claims of two breakaway Georgian regions.
November 5, 2008 – In a national address, Medvedev announces the possible deployment of short-range missiles capable of striking NATO if the United States presses ahead with a missile defense shield in Europe.
November 14, 2008 – Medvedev backs away from prior threat of possible short-range missiles.
November 27-November 28, 2008 – Travels to Central America and meets with former Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
April 1, 2009 – Medvedev and US President Barack Obama announce that their countries will soon begin negotiations on reducing their nuclear arsenals, according to a joint statement from the two leaders.
April 8, 2010 – Medvedev and Obama sign a new nuclear arms treaty (START), cutting nuclear warheads held by each country to 1,550.
August 24, 2011 – Meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in eastern Siberia to discuss nuclear issues, trade and a proposed natural gas pipeline.
September 24, 2011 – Calls on the ruling party, United Russia, to endorse Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for president in 2012. Putin in turn suggests that Medvedev should take over the role of prime minister if the party wins parliamentary elections in December.
May 6, 2012 – Putin is sworn in as president and one of his first acts is to name Medvedev prime minister.
May 8, 2012 – Medvedev is approved by the Duma to be the new prime minister.
February 13, 2016 – Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Medvedev says the strained relationship between his country and the West could be described as “a new Cold War.”
August 2, 2017 – Following the signing of new US sanctions against Russia, Medvedev says any hope of improved relations between Washington and the Kremlin have “ended.”