Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who served as the President of Russia from 2008 to 2012 and Prime Minister of Russia from 2012 to 2020. As of 2020, he has served as the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia.

Medvedev was elected president in the 2008 election. He was seen as more liberal than his predecessor Vladimir Putin, who was prime minister in Medvedev's presidency. Medvedev's agenda as president was a wide-ranging modernisation programme, aimed at modernising Russia's economy and society, and lessening the country's reliance on oil and gas. During Medvedev's tenure, the United States and Russia signed the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty. In addition to overseeing Russia's recovery from the Great Recession, his presidency also witnessed the Russo-Georgian War. Medvedev also launched an anti-corruption campaign, yet was later being accused of corruption himself.

He served a single term in office and was succeeded by Putin following the 2012 presidential election. Putin then appointed Medvedev as prime minister. He resigned along with the rest of the government on 15 January 2020 to allow Putin to make sweeping constitutional changes and was succeeded by Mikhail Mishustin on 16 January 2020. Putin appointed Medvedev the same day to the new office of deputy chairman of the Security Council.

To some analysts, Medvedev's presidency seemed to promise positive changes both at home and in ties with the West, signaling "the possibility of a new, more liberal period in Russian politics". However, since the prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has adopted increasingly hawkish and anti-Western positions. Observers both domestically and internationally suggested that the break with past rhetoric was Medvedev attempting to change his public image as a moderate subordinate to Putin. He is considered by many sources to be a potential successor of Putin.