Mr. Medvedev had evoked the fabled Dead Hand mechanism (often known as ‘Perimeter’), a secretive semi-automated Russian command system that might launch a nuclear strike if its leaders have been killed in enemy assaults.
Born on September 14, 1965 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Dmitry Medvedev is the son of professors Yulia and Anatoly Medvedev. He earned a level in regulation after which accomplished post-graduate research at Leningrad State University, graduating in 1990. In 1989, he married Svetlana; their son Ilya, now 29, joined the United Russia Party of Vladimir Putin in 2022.
A PhD in regulation, Mr. Medvedev taught for 9 years on the St. Petersburg State University. During this time, he additionally labored as an adviser to the town council, and in 1991, he joined the authorized group working for the then Mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak. It was right here that he met Mr. Putin.
Mr. Putin grew to become the appearing President of Russia in December 1999, and Mr. Medvedev was tapped to change into a member of his group. In 2000, he led Mr. Putin’s presidential marketing campaign, and was appointed the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Presidential Executive Office. In November 2005, he grew to become the primary Deputy Prime Minister, and was named by Mr. Putin as his successor in 2007. On May 7, 2008, Mr. Medvedev grew to become the President of Russia, for a one-term stint since Mr. Putin was barred underneath the then Constitution from occupying the publish for a 3rd consecutive time period. Soon after his inauguration, he nominated Mr. Putin as his Prime Minister.
Mr. Medvedev had campaigned with the slogan “Freedom is healthier than no freedom,” and through his stint as President, he undertook a number of reforms, such because the decriminalisation of defamation. He negotiated with the then U.S. President, Barack Obama, to scale back the variety of nuclear warheads within the two nations, and presided over Russia’s accession to the WTO. He additionally introduced an finish to counterinsurgency operations in Chechnya. He was on the helm when conflict broke out in Georgia in 2008.
New position
Mr. Putin returned as President in March 2012, and Mr. Medvedev grew to become the top of the United Russia celebration and the Prime Minister of Russia, occupying this place from May 8, 2012 to 2020. He slowly light into the background and finally resigned as Prime Minister in 2020.
Post this, Mr. Medvedev was appointed because the deputy of the newly created National Security Council, an advisory physique with Mr. Putin at its head.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Mr. Medvedev has been a robust supporter of Mr. Putin’s actions. He began a Telegram channel quickly after the invasion, changing into Russia’s hottest blogger by the top of 2022. This additionally circled his picture within the eyes of the general public: from a public belief ranking of 23% in 2021 from pollster VTsIOM, he notched a ranking of 45.7% in June 2025.
While Mr. Trump and Mr. Medvedev have sparred earlier than, the present alternate was sparked by Mr. Trump’s publish on July 29, warning that the U.S. would sanction Russia in 10 days if it didn’t take measures to finish the conflict with Ukraine. Mr. Medvedev referred to as this a “theatrical ultimatum”, and mentioned “every new ultimatum is a risk and a step in direction of conflict”. He additionally warned that Russia was not “Israel and even Iran”, and warned Mr. Trump to not “go down the Sleepy Joe street.” In response, Mr. Trump referred to as him “the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s nonetheless President”.
Mr. Medvedev responded through a message on Telegram, “If some phrases from the previous president of Russia set off such a nervous response from the high-and-mighty president of the U.S., then Russia is doing all the things proper and can proceed to proceed alongside its personal path.”
Published – August 03, 2025 01:51 am IST
