Moscow - When Svetlana Medvedeva showed up to vote in
Russia's presidential elections Sunday together with her husband
Dmitry, her stiletto-heeled shoes revealed her soft spot for
expensive clothing.
Now, Russian media report say, Russia's future First Lady - at the
side of Dmitry who easily won Sunday's election as outgoing president
Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor - has already upgraded her
wardrobe in preparing for a role like that of the late Jackie
Kennedy, wife of late US President John F. Kennedy.
And only a few people in Moscow believe that Svetlana, the
daughter of a soldier, will stay out of the public limelight as
discretely as did Lyudmila Putina, Vladimir Putin's wife.
An economist by academic training, Medvedeva is described in the
magazine Expert as being 'strong and imperious,' a person who can put
even her husband in the shadows.
'Her charm helps her to establish contacts which her husband then
makes use of,' commented political scientist Stanislav Belkovski
about the statuesque blonde.
Till now, Dmitry Medvedev had mainly appeared alone in public,
while Svetlana involved herself in the issue of the spiritual and
ethical situation of Russia's youth - an endeavour for which she had
the blessing of Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexi II.
Dimitry and Svetlana have known each other since the first grade
in school. Media reports say Dimitry was in love for many years with
Svetlana, who was popular with everyone. The couple married in their
home city of Leningrad - now St. Petersburg - in 1989. They have a
son, Ilya, born in 1996.
Born sometime in 1965, Svetlana's exact age is guarded like a
state secret.
But, as her husband continued his rise up the political ladder,
Svetlana was happy to enter the celebrity circles of Russia's show
business crowd. Among her friends are pop diva Alla Pugachova and
star fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin.
As First Lady, Medvedeva will probably be trying to set the tone
in the country's fashion scene, Expert magazine said.
'At political receptions, from now on we will be seeing the latest
creations by Yudashkin,' it predicted. And, the magazine said, the
future presidential wife might also be encouraged to show off her
cleavage a bit more generously.
USA
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