Dmitry Medvedev biography, age, career path, height, family 2025

Biography of Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev was the President of the Russian Federation from 2008 to 2012, and since May 2012, he heads the Government of the Russian Federation.

Childhood and youth

Dmitry Medvedev was born into an intelligent Leningrad family. His father Anatoly Afanasievich Medvedevwas a professor at the Leningrad Technological Institute of Lensovet (now it’s called Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology).

Mother, Julia Veniaminovna taught at the Pedagogical Institute of Herzen and later she worked as a guide in the suburban Pavlovsk reservation. Dmitry was the only child in the family.

School photo of Dmitry Medvedev (leftwards)

The childhood of Dmitry Medvedev passed in the on the outskirts of the Leningrad in the Kupchino downtown. He attended school №305 on Budapest Street. Nina Pavlovna Eryukhina was a class teacher of Medvedev and she recalled that Dmitry was always devoted to studies, and was fond of chemistry and often sat up in the lab, conducting various experiments. He could rarely be seen on a walk with classmates. By the way, Dmitry still maintains a connection with the teachers of his first school.

Dmitry Medvedev and his classmates, 1979

In 1979, Dmitry joined the Komsomol and he remained its member until August 1991.

In 1982, Dmitry Medvedev graduated from the school, and then entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg State University, which in those years bore the unpronounceable name of the «Leningrad Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor of Zhdanov».

Dmitry Medvedev (leftwards) in his student years

Nikolai Kropachev was a grad student at the Criminal Law Faculty at that time (in 2008, he became the chancellor of St. Petersburg State University) and he described the Medvedev as «sturdy and good student. He was engaged in sports including weightlifting. Once he won something for his faculty. But for the main classes, he was the same as everyone else but only more diligent». By the way, in his youth, the politician was fond of hard rock and his favorite bands were Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin. Dmitry also listened to Russian rock, in particular, Chaif's band. In addition, Medvedev became the owner of the camera «Smena-8M» in the students and seriously took a great interest in photography. Dmitry Medvedev did not serve in the army, but he underwent military training in Khukhoyamaki (Karelia) as a student.

In 1987, Dmitry got a degree in law and then continued his scientific career in grad school. For the next three years, he worked on his Ph.D. thesis on «Problems in the realization of the civil legal personality of a state enterprise», while teaching at the department of civil law in his alma mater, as well as moonlighting for 120 rubles a month as a janitor.

Political career

The professor Anatoly Sobchak appeared among the candidates while the elections in the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR which held on March 1989. The future St. Petersburg mayor was the scientific leader of Medvedev, and the young graduate student helped his mentor wherever possible: he put posters, agitated passers-by on the streets, and spoke at pre-election rallies.

Dmitry Medvedev and Anatoly Sobchak (far right)

In 1990, Dmitry Medvedev defended the thesis, and Sobchak as a chairman of the Leningrad City Council, invited his ward to the staff, saying that he would need «young and modern» people. The young man accepted the offer, being one of Sobchak's advisors while continuing his teaching activities at the faculty. Medvedev first met with Vladimir Putin was at the Sobchak's headquarters, who was also invited to work personally by Anatoly Alexandrovich.

Dmitry Medvedev honored the memory of Anatoly Sobchak, 2010

When Anatoly Sobchak was elected as a mayor of Leningrad in 1991, Putin followed him and became vice-mayor, and Dmitry Medvedev returned to teaching and led by Putin, he also became a freelance expert of the Committee for External Relations of the St. Petersburg administration. He was sent to Sweden under the framework of this post, where he passed an internship on local government issues.

Vladimir Putin met Dmitry Medvedev in 1990

In 1993, Dmitry became one of the co-founders of CJSC Finzell, where he owned half of the shares, as well as Director of Legal Affairs of the pulp and paper corporation «Ilim Pulp Interpraise», and later he was appointed as an «Ilim» representative in the Board of Directors of the Bratsk timber industry complex.

In 1996, Dmitry Medvedev ceased cooperation with Smolny related with the loss of Sobchak to Vladimir Yakovlev in the gubernatorial elections. And in 1999, he was appointed to the post of deputy head of the Government of the Russian Federation. The editors of zoomboola.com assume, Dmitry left teaching activities and moved to the capital due to his appointment.

After the departure of Boris Yeltsin, Dmitry Anatolyevich became deputy head of the presidential administration. In 2000, after Vladimir Putin won the presidential election, he took the post of First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration.

Dmitry Medvedev as a First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, in 2000

At the same time, he took up the post of chairman of the Gazprom board of directors (in 2001, he was appointed deputy chairman) and held this important post until 2008. From the fall of 2003 to the fall of 2005, Dmitry Medvedev directed the Administrations of the President of the Russian Federation. In 2003, he was appointed a member of the Security Council of Russia.

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev in the beginning of 2000th

From October 2005 to July 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was the First Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Council for the Implementation of National Projects and Demographic Policy. At the end of 2005, he was appointed First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (reassigned to the post in September 2007).

Since mid-2006, for two years, Medvedev was chairman of the Presidium of the Council for the implementation of national projects.

The pre-election campaign

In November 2005, the pre-election campaign of Medvedev started actually on central television channels; at the same time, the electoral site of Dmitry Anatolyevich was registered. A few months later, politician began to be mentioned in the press as a favorite of Vladimir Putin.

The pre-election slogan of Dmitry Medvedev

In September 2006, Medvedev headed the International Advisory Board of the Skolkovo Capital School of Management. And six months later, in early 2007, Medvedev was called the main Russian presidential candidate. According to analysts, even then 33% of voters were ready to vote for him in the first round and 54% in the second round.

The active phase of the election campaign began in October 2007. A couple of months later, Medvedev's candidacy was supported by Putin, after which Dmitry Anatolevich was officially nominated to the presidency at the congress of United Russia political party.

The pre-election campaign of Dmitry Medvedev started in autumn 2007

During the filing of documents to the Central Election Commission, Dmitry Medvedev said that he would resign from the post of Gazprom's Board of Directors if he became president.

Presidency

On March 2, 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was elected the third president of the Russian Federation, ahead of the main rivals Vladimir Zhirinovsky (Liberal Democratic Party), Gennady Zyuganov (Communist Party) and Andrei Bogdanov (Democratic Party) with in a landslide victory (70,28% of votes).

March 2, 2008: Dmitry Medvedev became the third president of Russia

Two months after the official summarizing the results of the elective company (May 7), the inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev took place. In the inaugural speech, he stated the need to focus on civil and economic freedoms. The first decree signed by Medvedev was the Federal Law, which was supposed to provide free housing for veterans of the Great Patriotic War.

The beginning of Medvedev's presidency coincided with the beginning of the global financial crisis and with the armed conflict with Georgia in South Ossetia, which became the most significant event in Medvedev's foreign policy.

Dmitry Anatolyevich admitted, that the so-called «five-day» war was a surprise for him. Some tension in the relations between Russia and Georgia was felt back in early 2008 but according to the president, he «had no idea what intentions were in the Saakashvili’s twisted mind»

The escalation of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict took place at the end of July-early August; the third month of Medvedev's presidency. On the night of August 7 to 8, the Minister of Defense called to President and told about the beginning of hostilities by Georgian troops. When Anatoly Serdyukov reported on the death of Russian peacekeepers, Medvedev ordered to open fire for defeat. This was his personal decision, taken without the participation of ministers. On the morning of the 8th day, Russian aviation began shelling military installations located on the territory of Georgia.

Dmitri Medvedev’s presidency began with a serious trial

On August 12, 2008, Dmitry Anatolyevich and French President Nicolas Sarkozy adopted a plan for the settlement of contradictions, which was signed a few days later by the presidents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Despite the decisive actions of the president at a critical moment, many analysts are inclined to believe that Medvedev's foreign policy was interspersed with both comparative successes and apparent setbacks. So, despite the initially well-established relations between Medvedev and Ukrainian President ViktorYanukovych, who replaced Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine never entered the Customs Union, and the situation with the «gas» relations worsened between the countries.

A lot of excitement among the patriotic public was caused by Medvedev's position on the Libyan issue. At his request, Russia abstained from voting on a resolution in the UN Security Council, when its members decided on a possible military operation in Libya to protect civilians from Gaddafi's troops.

Dmitry Medvedev's efforts in the social sphere have paid off: during the period of his presidency, the population growth has stabilized, reaching a peak for last several decades and the percentage of families with many children has increased. The real incomes of the population increased by almost 20% and the average size of pensions doubled. More than a million families have improved their living conditions thanks to the maternity capital program. Much has been done in the sphere of small business as Medvedev helped simplify the procedure for starting a business, and also lifted some restrictions for entrepreneurs.

It was the beginning of the creation of a powerful research center, which was to become an analog of the American Silicon Valley. In September 2010, Medvedev signed FZ-244 «On the Innovation Center of Skolkovo». The working group of the Skolkovo project was led by Vladislav Surkov.

At the initiative of the president in 2009-2011, the reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia was carried out, and the law enforcement agencies were renamed as the «police». Also, according to Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, the level of social protection and efficiency of internal staff were raised.

Dmitry Medvedev initiated the reform of the Interior Ministry

With the support of Anatoly Serdyukov, the reform of the Armed Forces was also initiated, which consisted in optimizing the number of officers, optimizing the management system (the transition from the 4- unit hierarchy to the 3- unit hierarchy), and the reforming of military education.

During Medvedev's presidency, presidential term was increased from 4 to 6 years, and term the State Dumadeputies were increased from 4 to 5. In September 2010, Medvedev dismissed the mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, who had exhausted the government's trust. Subsequently, Sergei Sobyanin was appointed to his place.

In 2010, Dmitry Medvedev fired Yuri Luzhkov

In September 2011, it was announced that Vladimir Putin will nominate his candidacy for the presidential elections in 2012, and Dmitry Medvedev will lead the government in case of victory.

In general, the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev had conflicting reviews. So, the famous publicist Dmitry Bykovreproached him for «hypertrophic attention to the third-rate» and many public figures criticized Medvedevfor the lack of real power, while Alexei Kudrin, who was the minister of finance until September 2011, stated that he «witnessed the development and adoption of many key decisions» personally by Medvedev.

The Russian Internet users treated Dmitry Medvedev with warmth. Thanks to his interest in technology and the openness of his character, the president has repeatedly become a hero of videos that flew across the Net. For example, a video in which Dmitry Medvedev dances to the composition «American Boy» has collected several million views.

Further career

After the election of Vladimir Putin as the president in 2012, Dmitry Medvedev headed the government and became prime minister of the Russian Federation. There are prominent political figures of Russia under his leadership: First Deputy Igor Shuvalov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky and others.

In 2012, Dmitry Medvedev became Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

In May 2012, Dmitry Medvedev was appointed the chairman of United Russia political party.

In 2016, Dmitry Medvedev headed the Government of the Russian Federation and the party «United Russia», being one of the key political figures of the country. He was elected as a head of the Program Committee, engaged in the development of the political course of the party. He oversaw the economy, in particular, pricing and import substitution, tackled problems in healthcare and education. Several times he visited the Crimea with a business visit, which was the reason for the note of protest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

Dmitry Medvedev: «There is no money, just hold on» (Crimea, 2016)

In 2017, the prime minister was at the center of a major corruption scandal. Opposition politician AlekseiNavalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation posted on YouTube a 50-minute video investigation titled «He's Not Yours», in which he claimed that Medvedev was leading a multi-level corruption scheme based on charitable foundations. A key place in the investigation was given to the Dar Foundation, headed by his classmate Ilya Yeliseyev. The film also showed allegedly Medvedev's mansions in Phesako, his vineyard and castle in Tuscany and the two yachts «Photinia».

On March 26, thousands of Russians went to rallies, demanding that the government respond to the allegations made in the film. The answer from Dmitry Anatolyevich was sounded on April 19. «I will not comment specifically on the absolutely false products of political rascals», he said during a speech in the State Duma. On June 12, Russia was waiting for another wave of anti-corruption rallies. However, the position of the prime minister remained unshakable.

Hobbies and personal life of Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev’s wife, Svetlana Linnik is his school friend from parallel class. According to DmitryAnatolyevich. Mutual sympathy arose among them in the school years, but only in the final year he got courage and confessed to the girl in his feelings.

Dmitry Medvedev and Svetlana Medvedev in their youth

After graduation, they parted ways: Svetlana became a student of LEFI, but Dmitry chose LSU. During the student days, they practically did not communicate, however, a chance meeting reminded them of past feelings. In 1989, lovers were married.

In August 1995, Dmitry and Svetlana became parents. The boy was named Ilya. Medvedev Jr grew up clever in exact sciences, was fond of football, fencing with sabers and liked computer equipment. In 2012, Ilyaentered MGIMO with 359 points out of 400 possible.

The Medvedev family likes animals. The couple has two cats breed Neva Masquerade names Dorofei and Milka, who more than once became the heroes of news articles. Also, Dmitry Medvedev is the owner of four dogs: English Setters named Daniel and Jolie, the Central Asian Shepherd, whose name is unknown to the press, and the golden retriever named Alba.

Dorofei is Dmitri Medvedev’s favorite cat

It's no secret that Dmitry Medvedev closely follows the new technologies and is an active user of social networks. Medvedev got his first computer in in the early 80's; it was a Soviet computer M-6000. He is registered in «Odnoklassniki», «VKontakte», «Twitter» and «Instagram» and he was one of the first among politicians started to address the population through a video blog.

Meeting of Dmitry Medvedev and his beloved band Deep Purple

He is known as a bright follower of Apple technology: in 2010, during the president's visit to Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs presented him with the newly released iPhone 4, not yet sold in Russia. Later the Medvedev could be seen with Apple's smart watch on his hand. Currently, Medvedev actively supports the replacement of foreign software with domestic counterparts.

Steve Jobs gave Dmitry Medvedev an iPhone

The ex-president is fond of photography, often pleases his subscribers with his photos in the Instagram. In 2011, he participated in the photo exhibition «The World through the Eyes of Russians» with a photograph of the Tobolsk Kremlin.

«Tobolsk Kremlin» was a competitive photo made by Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev Now

15nd January, 2020 Vladimir Putin announced changes in the main Russian enactment – the Constitution. The lead intention was obviously the saving of president post after 2024 and 2030 presidential elections. After a couple of hours after his speech all the Government declared voluntary dissolution.

Russian government dissolved: Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev

According to insiders from Kremlinm this Putin's trick was a surprise for Dmitriy Medvedev. But he wasn't forgotten. Vladimir Putin appointed him deputy chairman of the Security Council. However, Medvedev didn't appeared from Russian political life, For example, he spoke with people while Covid-19 pandemic.

Dmitry Medvedev: latest news and articles

7 Russian politicians well-known abroad

30 Jan 2019

Kerrie Steele Journalist

Angel Daniel Hernandez

He is the person who could achieve a lot in science but Medvedev wasted his intellect to politic... That`s sad...

2021-04-14 17:37:35
Gloria Harmon

Dmitry Medvedev is not only a politician, for me he was revealed as a phothographer and as a active user of social medias. What about politic, he is controversial character for me, I can`t understand him 100% ;)

2021-03-15 15:17:59
Kenneth King

Medvedev is that kind of guy who was just in the right place and right time. He met a lot of influential people who helped him with his career.

2021-02-26 17:24:58
Betty Vega

He is charismatic and charming man, intelligent with a good education. I have only respect for Medvedev.

2021-02-23 22:28:08
Ryan Nathan Gonzalez

Dmitry Medvedev is a dark horse in Russian politics. Of course he has many supporters but also opponents. And for me, I think he is interesting person.

2021-01-28 16:43:42