Moscow - Dmitry Medvedev, the man Vladimir Putin handpicked
to succeed him as the president of Russia, as expected easily won
Sunday's presidential election and at the age of 42, he will be
Russia's youngest head of state since the time of the tsars.
After Putin chose Medvedev, deputy head of government, as his
desired successor in December, Medvedev's approval rating raced from
24 to 70 per cent.
Though initially he seemed insecure, he looked increasingly
confident and almost presidential in television appearances leading
up to the election. He has presented himself as a liberal variation
of Putin.
Medvedev's credo is stability and the continuation of Putin's
course. In many ways the close confident of Putin is a lot like the
departing president was eight years ago when he came to office.
Neither is especially tall. Medvedev's facial expression sometimes
looks awkward when out of habit he pulls the corners of his mouth
downward. But at the same time, you can sense how alert and
concentrated he is at work.
Putin built the ladder for his ally's rise. He made him head of
Gazprom's board of directors and the energy giant is the basis of
Medvedev's power. Among gas monopolists Medvedev has a reputation for
being painstaking and competent in handling his tasks. The candidate
is one of the few politicians allied with Putin who did not
previously have a career in the secret service.
Even before his nomination, Medvedev was featured in state
television news reports almost exclusively in a positive light. He
was responsible for the so-called 'national projects' in the areas of
education, health, housing construction and agriculture. He never
spoke about ambitions for presidential office before he was anointed
Putin's chosen successor.
He presented himself as the liberal face of the new Russia just
over a year ago at the Davos economic forum. In the campaign he has
stressed social themes and portrays himself as friendly to business,
while the anti-western statements coming out of Russia remain
squarely Putin's.
Medvedev and Putin have worked together for 17 years. A former
member of the St Petersburg city administration, he followed Putin to
Moscow where as vice chairman of the Kremlin administration he
organized Putin's first presidential campaign in 2000.
Critics accuse Medvedev of being jointly responsible for the
authoritarian developments in the country in recent years. He rose to
the position of head of the Kremlin administration in 2003. Media
reports say inside the Kremlin he is known as the vizier. Two years
later Putin made him deputy head of government and shortly afterward
rumours surfaced that he had been chosen as Putin's successor.
Medvedev comes from a family of university teachers in St
Petersburg. He and his wife, Svetlana, have one son. In interviews
the otherwise dry politician admits to his enthusiasm for hard rock.
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