Since September 2006, heads the International Board of Trustees SKOLKOVO.

Personal life

Medvedev is married and has a son named Ilya (born 1995). His wife, Svetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva, was both his childhood friend and school sweetheart. They married several years after their graduation from secondary school in 1982.

Medvedev is a devoted fan of English hard rock, listing Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and Deep Purple as his favorite bands. He is a collector of their original vinyl records and has previously said that he has collected all of the recordings of Deep Purple. As a youth, he was making copies of their records, although these bands were then on the official state-issued blacklist. In February 2008, Medvedev and Sergei Ivanov attended a Deep Purple concert in Moscow together.

During a visit to Serbia, Medvedev received the Order of St. Sava for «his contribution to the unity of the world Orthodoxy and his love to the Serbian people», it is the highest award of the Serbian Orthodox church.

Despite a busy schedule, Medvedev always reserves an hour each morning and again each evening to swim and weight trains. He swims 1,500 meters (approximately one mile), twice a day. He also jogs, plays chess, and practices yoga. Among his hobbies are reading the works of Mikhail Bulgakov and he is also a fan of the Harry Potter books after asking JK Rowling for her autograph when they met during the G-20 London Summit in April 2009. He is also a fan of football and follows his hometown professional football team, FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. And since he has been living in Moscow he supports PFC CSKA Moscow as well.

Medvedev is an avid amateur photographer. In January 2010, one of his photographs was sold at a charity auction for 51 million rubles (US$1,750,000), making it one of the most expensive ever sold.

Medvedev keeps an aquarium in his office and cares for his fish himself. Medvedev owns a Neva Masquerade male cat named Dorofei. Dorofei used to fight with a cat belonging to Mikhail Gorbachev-who was Medvedev's neighbor-so the Medvedevs had to have Dorofei neutered.

Medvedev's reported 2007 annual income is $80,000, and he reported approximately the same amount as bank savings. Medvedev's wife reported no savings or income. They live in an upscale apartment house «Zolotye Klyuchi» in Moscow

On the Runet, Medvedev is sometimes associated with the Medved meme, linked to padonki slang, which resulted in many ironical and satirical writings and cartoons that blend Medvedev with a bear. (The word medved means «bear» in Russian and the surname «Medvedev» is a patronymic which means «bear's»). Medvedev is familiar with this phenomenon and takes no offence, stating that the web meme has the right to exist.

Medvedev is competent in English, but due in part to protocol, he only speaks Russian in interviews.

2.2 Work in politics before the presidential election and political views

1990 and 1997 - Lectured at St Petersburg State University. Simultaneously, in 1990-1995 - Advisor to the Chairman of the Leningrad city council Anatoly Sobchak, an expert of the Committee on Foreign Relations, St. Petersburg Mayor. In Smolny Medvedev was engaged in development and execution of transactions, contracts, and various investment projects. Was on probation in Sweden by the local government. According to some accounts, while many took him for Secretary of Putin and not taken seriously. President of the National Strategy Institute Stanislav Belkovsky characterizes Dmitry Medvedev as malleable, soft, and psychologically dependent - always absolutely psychologically comfortable for Vladimir Putin. According to other people, Medvedev «is not soft, but very powerful, even».

According to political analyst Alexei Mukhin, Medvedev made a great contribution to the defense of Putin's accusations on the basis of investigations of the Committee, Mayor's Office of External Relations in 1992 and threatened to Putin loss positions.

In 1997-1998, Dmitry Medvedev worked as the head of legal services corporation Ilim Pulp Interprise»

In November 1999 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kozak, to work in Moscow invited him become Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

In 1999-2000, after the departure of B.H. Yeltsin - Deputy Head of Presidential Administration of Russian Federation led campaign headquarters Vladimir Putin formerly belonging to A. Smolenski «Alexander House», where then was the center for Strategic Studies, German Gref, in June 2000 after the victory of Vladimir Putin's presidential election Medvedev has served as first deputy head of presidential administration. According to the political expert Stanislav Belkovsky, Alexander Voloshin and Roman Abramovich at the moment ourselves proposed the candidature of Medvedev. After the departure of Voloshin Medvedev took his place. In 2000-2001 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO Gazprom, in 2001 - Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO Gazprom, from June 2002 to May 2008 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO Gazprom.

From October 2003 to November 2005 - head of Russian President's Administration. 12 November 2003, Medvedev was appointed a member of the Russian Security Council. In April 2004, he received a permanent Security Council members Russia.

On October 21, 2005 on July 10, 2008 - first deputy of the Presidential Council of the Russian Federation on the Implementation of Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy, actually began to oversee the national projects.

14 November 2005 was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister (reassigned to the post September 24, 2007).

On July 13, 2006 to July 10, 2008, Dmitry Medvedev - President of the Presidium of the Council on the implementation of priority national projects.

March 5, 2007 held Internet-conference on the portal Yandex.

In October 2007, Dmitry Medvedev, announced the completion of the project for connecting to the Internet of all Russian schools (59,000)

Political views.

Demographic problem

In October 2007, Medvedev said that if we do not lay the foundation for solving the demographic problem, then in 20-25 years we will get another country which, unfortunately, will not be able to reproduce itself. If we do not deal with demographic problems, almost half of births has no chance to survive until retirement. By June 5, 2007 The volume of financing of social programs in a relatively short period of time were very substantially increased. We can say for the whole period of modern Russian history - an unprecedented.

«It is obvious that a key role in population policy should be played by regional and local authorities. The task of federal authorities, in addition to providing adequate resources - is the establishment of common rules, standards and safeguards that will be able to earn if they receive appropriate support in the regions» [13].

Speaking to the deputies in the Duma with information on the topic «On the implementation of priority national projects»

Moscow

January 24, 2007

Last year, 3.8 billion rubles was spent by parents in the form of compensation, we isolated them from the federal budget for part payment to be deposited in the manner of parental fees in kindergartens. This is quite palpable, and for federal, and even more so for family budgets of parental fees for child support.

«We have today's task - to make just two years the family could really invest capital in the parent education of children, improving housing conditions in retirement savings» [18].

Speech at the meeting of the presidium of the Presidential Council for Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy

Moscow, Government House

December 26, 2007

Education

In 2007, Medvedev said that the transition to a knowledge economy requires us to respond adequately to the challenges faced by the education system and society as a whole. We must learn to adjust the actual content and teaching methods, providing opportunities for retraining.

Need to give teachers opportunities to choose the form, models and professional development. Public funds should follow the future student at the university, which this student chose. Thus be stimulated by the competition of universities, who will be forced to fight for the most powerful alumni. This approach is a common logic with the principles with which we come and to general education. revenue growth of teachers, decent pay for their work in relation to the quality of work - one of the key aspects of the modernization of the modern school. Now the main thing - to change the attitude towards work of teachers, create a new system of financing education, including a system that motivates teachers to improve the quality of work.

«Our position was and is that a free, educated, healthy people - it's the main thing that determines the development of the country and its prospects. We're on the verge of a complete modernization of financial and economic model in education, and healthcare. It is our goal. And this we do in the future». [19].

Speech at the meeting of the presidium of the Presidential Council for Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy

Moscow, Government House

December 26, 2007

Нealth

Тo January 24, 2007, as reported by Medvedev, the work of general practitioners, pediatricians, general practitioners once again become a prestigious and already in the past year, she was selected thousands of graduates of medical schools and medical school. He urged to free medical services at the same time would mean that the service quality.

June 26, 2007 at Government House Medvedev said that there should be a system in which each person accurately and clearly understands the direction in which the clinic and when he was invited for admission to hospital. Even the most modern diagnostic facilities will have no effect if you do not hold true full clinical examination, including those who work in the private sector.

Affordable Housing

June 26, 2007, Medvedev said that the main, benchmarks - go eventually to the construction of not less than one square meter of housing per year for each inhabitant of our country. In Russia a lot of land, but uses it irrationally. So irrational, that sometimes you wonder. When you come into a city, one wonders: like and places abound, such as built near the tears welling in her eyes. And people do nowhere to go, and I want to demolish it, but do not know how.

«Obviously, all those projects that we do need to rely on the development of urban transport routes, the formation of a normal road street network, landscaped areas, a set of social facilities: clinics, schools and kindergartens. All of this should go in parallel with the construction of housing. It is now obvious and indisputable fakt. Stabilizatsiya prices on building products - one of our priorities, one of the basic issues. And it can only be solved quite understandably - by increasing the capacity of the industry itself, due to the active reconstruction of existing enterprises, establishment of new modern facilities». [10].

Speech at the meeting of the presidium of the Presidential Council for Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy

Moscow, Government House

June 26, 2007

The solution of social problems of servicemen

Over the past few years taken concrete steps to reduce the number waiting in the Army. Only during 2006-2007, they became smaller by almost 20 percent. The program «15 15», which was initiated by the President, financed the construction of additional housing in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions in the most complex and troubled by this part. In these regions, the military has already received more than 13,000 apartments. For two years the total number of settlers will be 18500.

«Accumulated in the Armed Forces of the social problems in principle does not dissolvable with the problems that exist in the «citizen». Nobody can abolish the common goals that have been designated by the President: Up to 2010 to provide permanent housing for the military, and by 2012 - official. And within a specified time to select the order of 208,000 flats». [14].

Chatting with the media representatives of the North-West Federal District

Murmansk

January 11, 2008

24 January 2008 Mr. President said that within the parameters of the budget of the Ministry of Defense and the federal budget as a whole, we can not only maintain growth rates of housing for militaryWho have been recruited in recent years, but also to increase these rates in order to solve the problem posed by the President - and on housing for permanent use, and the service housing.

2.3 The election, the campaign and presidency

The President in our country is responsible for everything. And with that thought to live. Need to be prepared to work round the clock. Decisions. And I'll do it. [9].

Dmitry Medvedev

Following his appointment as First Deputy Prime Minister, many political observers expected Medvedev to be nominated as Putin's successor for the 2008 presidential elections. There were other potential candidates, such as Sergey Ivanov and Viktor Zubkov, but on 10 December 2007, President Putin announced that Medvedev was his preferred successor. The announcement was staged on TV with four parties suggesting Medvedev's candidature to Putin, and Putin then giving his endorsement. The four pro-Kremlin parties were United Russia, Fair Russia, Agrarian Party of Russia and Civilian Power. United Russia held its party congress on 17 December 2007 where by secret ballot of the delegates, Medvedev was officially endorsed as their candidate in the 2008 presidential election. He formally registered his candidacy with the Central Election Commission on 20 December 2007 and said he would step down as chairman of Gazprom, since under the current laws, the president is not permitted to hold another post. His registration was formally accepted as valid by the Russian Central Election Commission on 21 January 2008.

Political analysts believed that Putin's choice of a successor would coast to an easy election-day victory, as pre-election opinion polls indicated that a substantial majority of potential voters would back Putin's chosen candidate for president. An opinion poll by Russia's independent polling organization, the Levada Center, conducted over the period 21-24 December 2007 indicated that when presented a list of potential candidates, 79% of Russians were ready to vote for Medvedev if the election were immediately held. In his first speech after being endorsed, Medvedev announced that, as President, he would appoint Vladimir Putin to the post of prime minister to head the Russian government. Although constitutionally barred from a third consecutive presidential term, such a role would allow Putin to continue as an influential figure in Russian politics. The constitution allows him to return to the presidency later. Some analysts have been quick to point out that such a statement shows that Medvedev recognizes that he would only be a figurehead president. Putin pledged that he would accept the position of prime minister should Medvedev be elected president. Although Putin had pledged not to change the distribution of authority between president and prime minister, many analysts expected a shift in the center of power from the presidency to the prime minister post when Putin assumed the latter under a Medvedev presidency. Election posters have portrayed the pair side-by-side with the slogan «Together We Win»

In January 2008, Medvedev launched his presidential campaign with stops in the oblasts. With preliminary results showing he would probably win the 2 March 2008 presidential election by a landslide, Medvedev vowed to work closely with the man who chose him for the job, Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Churov, Chairman of the Presidential Election Committee, was the friend of both Putin and Medvedev with whom they started to work back in the 1990s in Sobchak's administration in St. Petersburg. The Committee denied participation in elections to the opposition leaders Kasparov and Kasyanov using technical formalities in the election law previously adjusted to hinder the opposition election campaign. The three candidates that were allowed to participate were not considered dangerous for Medvedev and did virtually nothing to challenge him. Medvedev declined to participate in political debates with the other candidates.

In a campaign speech, Medvedev advocated private property, economic deregulation, low taxes, an independent judiciary, anti-corruption, and defending personal freedoms. His phrase «Freedom is better than non-freedom» said in Krasnoyarsk during his election campaign, was widely cited as a sign of liberal changes by some and ironically by others.

Medvedev was seen as generally more liberal than his predecessor, Vladimir Putin

Inauguration

Medvedev was elected President of Russia on 2 March 2008. According to the final election results, he won 70.28% of votes with a turnout of over 69.78% of registered voters.

The fairness of the election was disputed by many western observers and officials. Andreas Gross, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) mission, stated that the elections were «neither free nor fair». Moreover, the few western vote monitors bemoaned the inequality of candidate registration and the abuse of administrative resources by Medvedev allowing blanket television coverage.

Russian programmer Shpilkin, analyzed the results of Medvedev's election and came to the conclusion that the results were falsified by the election committees. However, after the correction for the alleged falsification factor, Medvedev still came out as the winner, although with 63% of the vote instead of 70%

On 7 May 2008, Dmitry Medvedev took an oath as the third President of the Russian Federation in a ceremony held in Kremlin Palace. After taking the oath of office and receiving a gold chain of double-headed eagles symbolizing the presidency, he stated: «I believe my most important aims will be to protect civil and economic freedoms….We must fight for a true respect of the law and overcome legal nihilism, which seriously hampers modern development. "[12]. As his inauguration coincided with the celebration of the Victory Day on 9 May, he attended the military parade at Red Square and signed a decree to provide housing to war veterans.

Five-Day War

On the night of 7 to 8 August 2008 the Georgian army began an intense artillery bombardment of South Ossetia's capital Tskhinvali and surrounding areas, after a few hours followed by storming the city by Georgian armored vehicles and infantry. As a result of the attack for more than ten Russian peacekeeping troops were killed and several dozen - were wounded. The official reason for the attack on Tskhinvali, according to the Georgian side had violated the ceasefire on the part of South Ossetia, which, in turn, argues that the first fire was opened by Georgia.

In the course of military conflict, both sides accused each other of various crimes.

August 8, 2008 President Medvedev said: «Tonight in South Ossetia, Georgian troops, in fact, committed an act of aggression against Russian peacekeepers and civilians. (…) We will not let death of our compatriots go unpunished. Those responsible will be punished.» [12].

Later Medvedev noted: «Ultimately, up to a pore, we still had hope that it's still kind of provocation, which will not be communicated to the end. But at the moment actually earned rocket guns, tanks began firing, and I was informed about the death of our citizens, including peacekeepers, I did not hesitate and gave the order to kill and Response. «[12].

August 12, Medvedev announced that he has decided to complete the operation «forced the Georgian authorities to peace». The same day, Medvedev met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, culminating in the adoption of the plan, the armed conflict in Georgia (Medvedev - Sarkozy plan). Medvedev described the actions of the Georgian army in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict as genocide and ethnic cleansing.14 ??August (at the end of active hostilities in Georgia) Medvedev met in the Kremlin in a formal setting with the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh and South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity. During the meeting, Kokoity and Bagapsh signed the six principles of settling the Georgian-South Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, the previously developed Medvedev and Sarkozy, president of the unrecognized republics, it was reported that Russia will support any decision on the status of South Ossetia and AbkhaziaBy the peoples of these republics

Domestic policy

On 8 May 2008, Dmitry Medvedev appointed Vladimir Putin Prime Minister of Russia. In September, the country was hit by the 2008 Russian financial crisis. Dmitry Medvedev attributed the decline in the Russian stock market to the impact of the liquidity crisis in the United States and contended that the crisis in Russia had little if anything to do with internal problems in its economy and government policies. He ordered the injection of large funds from the state budget into the markets to stabilize the situation.

In his first address to the Russian parliament on 5 November 2008, Medvedev proposed to change the Constitution of Russia in order to increase the terms of the President and State Duma from four to six and five years respectively (see 2008 Amendments to the Constitution of Russia).

On 10 March 2009, Medvedev signed the presidential decree to reform the civil service system between 2009-2013 as part of his drive against corruption. The main direction of reforms include establishing a new system to manage the civil service, introducing effective technology and modern methods of human resources operations, and increasing the efficiency and professionalism of civil servants.

Medvedev on 8 May 2009, proposed to the legislature and on 2 June signed into law an amendment whereby the chairperson of the Constitutional Court and his deputies would be proposed to the parliament by the president rather than elected by the judges, as was the case before.

In May 2009, Medvedev set up the Presidential Commission of the Russian Federation to Counter Attempts to Falsify History to the Detriment of Russia's Interests.^[55]

Medvedev has named technological innovation one of the key priorities of his presidency. In May, 2009, Medvedev established the Presidential Commission on Innovation, which he will personally chair every month. The commission comprises almost the entire Russian government and some of the best minds from academia and business. Medvedev has also said that giant state corporations will inevitably be privatized, and although the state had increased its role in the economy in recent years, this should remain a temporary move.

On 7 August 2009, Dmitry Medvedev instructed Prosecutor General Yury Chayka and Chief of the Audit Directorate of the Presidential Administration of Russia Konstantin Chuychenko to probe state corporations, a new highly privileged form of organizations earlier promoted by President Putin, to question their appropriateness. Just like Prime Minister Putin few days earlier, on 15 September Medvedev announced that he might stand for presidency again in 2012, but stressed that he would not challenge the former and that they would have to find an agreement. During the same speech he approved of the 2004 abolition of direct popular elections of regional leaders, effectively in favor of their appointment by the Kremlin, and added that he didn't see a possibility of a return to direct elections even in 100 years.

In August 2009, Medvedev promised to break the near-monopoly of ruling party United Russia over the political system, stating that «New democratic times are beginning». On 11 October 2009, regional elections were won by United Russia with 66% of the vote. Medvedev stated that this proved the party's moral and legal right to run the regions. But according to Liliya Shibanova, head of independent poll watchdog GOLOS Association, «political competition is practically zero». Pro-Western opposition parties claimed the playing fields were uneven. On 26 October 2009, the First Deputy Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov, warned that democratic experiments could result in more instability and that more instability «could rip Russia apart».On November 6, 2010, Medvedev vetoed a recently passed bill which restricted antigovernment demonstrations. The bill, passed on October 22, notably prohibited anyone who had previously been convicted of organizing an illegal mass rally from seeking permission to stage a demonstration. In late November 2010, Medvedev made a public statement about the damage being done to Russia's politics by the dominance of the United Russia party. He claimed that the country faced political stagnation if the ruling party would «degrade» if not challenged; «this stagnation is equally damaging to both the ruling party and the opposition forces.» In the same speech, he said Russian democracy was «imperfect» but improving. BBC Russian correspondents reported that this came on the heels of discontent in political circles and opposition that the authorities, in their view, had too much control over the political process.

Medvedev modernisation programme

Go Russia!

Medvedev set out his programme in his policy article titled Go Russia!, published online in September 2009. In the article, Medvedev formulated his strategic objective of modernising Russia. He criticised Russia's economic «backwardness» and what he called Russia's «humiliating» dependency on oil and raw materials. He described the Russian society as «archaic» and «paternalistic» and said that the country can no longer rely on the achievements of the past to secure a prosperous future. In Medvedev's view, Russia should aim for a modern, diversified economy based on high technology and innovation. Medvedev criticised the previous attempts to modernize Russia-those by initiated by Peter I the Great and the Soviet Union - saying that the results they brought came at a too high cost, and this time modernization must come not through coercion but via the development of the creative potential of every individual, through private enterpreneurship and initiative. Medvedev identified five key areas for economic modernization, in which breakthroughs must be achieved:

1. energy efficiency and new fuels

2. medical technologies and pharmaceuticals

3. nuclear power engineering

4. information technologies

5. space and telecommunications. [3].

Medvedev further discussed and publicized his program his second state of the nation address in November 2009, as well as in a televised speech in December 2009.

Programme structure

Currently the energy intensity of the Russian economy is estimated to be about 2.5 times more than the world average. The government has set an aim of 40% decrease of the energy intensity by 2020. It is estimated that the main potential of achieving this aim lies within the housing sector and the budget organisations. The following state projects are initiated to increase the energy efficiency

· Count, save and pay - establishing and propagation of the thrifty model of energy resources use; governmental coordination of mass installation and production of counters and economizers.

· New light - gradual replacement of traditional incandescent light bulbs with more efficient types of lamps; development of the national production of energy saving devices.

· Energetically efficient city block - pilot project aimed into creation of efficient energy distribution and saving systems in urban blocks of several Russian cities.

· Energetically efficient social sector - realisation of the energy efficiency programmes in schools and hospitals, with subsequent enlargement of the project scope to all social services.

· Local energy systems) - developing of the local systems of electricity generation and central heating, where such small-scale systems can be more effective than large centralized systems; development of the production of equipment for local energy generation and supply.

· Innovative energy supply - stimulation of new innovative developments in energy sector; nation-wide technological contests in the area of energy efficiency.

Nuclear technology

Russia was the first country to develop civilian nuclear power and to construct the world's first nuclear power plant. Currently the country is the 4th largest nuclear energy producer. Russia has a strong industrial and scientific base in the area of nuclear technology, but much needs to be done for the full use of the technological potential that had been amassed in the Soviet era. Nuclear power in Russia is managed by Rosatom State Corporation. The sector is rapidly developing, with an aim of increasing the total share of nuclear energy from current 16.9% to 23% by 2020. The Russian government plans to allocate 127 billion rubles ($5.42 billion) to a federal program dedicated to the next generation of nuclear energy technology. About 1 trillion rubles ($42.7 billion) is to be allocated from the federal budget to nuclear power and industry development before 2015. The programme aims to establish secure, cheap and long-term nuclear energy supply in Russia as well as increase Russian exports of nuclear energy and technology abroad. Besides construction of the new nuclear power plants in Russia and elsewhere, the following major state projects have been initiated in the area of nuclear technology

Information technology

The recent decade saw a rapid spread of information technology in Russia. Over 42% of population in Russia have personal access to the Internet, and all schools and universities were provided Internet connection by 2007 as a part of the National Priority Project in Education supervized personally by Dmitry Medvedev, then vice-Prime Minister. Russia is a leading developer of softwareand the country enjoys a large amount of IT talent. Russian youth dominate international technology competitions like the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, where Russian universities have won five of the last 10 contests. Despite this, Russia faces a shortage of IT specialists due to high demand. In 2009, Russian companies employed more than 1 million IT specialists, making up 1.34% of the country's workforce. However, the figure is lower than in some other major economies, such as the United States (3.74%), United Kingdom (3.16%) and Germany (3.14%).

Space technology and telecommunications

Starting from the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik 1, and the first cosmonaut, Yury Gagarin, Russia always was one of the leaders in space technology. Currently the country is the largest satellite launcher and the only provider of transport for space tourism services. However, much of the potential achieved in this area still awaits large-scale commercialization. This can be achieved by the combination of space technology and telecommunications. The following state projects have been initiated in this area

Medical technology and pharmaceuticals

Despite a number of achievements, Russia is significantly behind the world leaders in medical technology and pharmaceutical production. The country produces only 20% of the drugs used domestically, while 80% is imported. President Medvedev has said he is confident that Russia can overcome the problem, and has called for a restoration of Russia's pharmaceutical industry, through the principles of mixed financing, both government and private. He has stressed the need for serious investment, saying that hundreds millions of dollars are needed, as well as investment into personnel.

Currently, the specific major state projects in the area of medical technology and pharmaceuticals are not yet defined or announced. The government aims to achieve the primarily domestical production of the most needed types of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, as well as support the development and commercialization of new innovative products, especially those related to biotechnology, cell and nuclear medicine, and nanotechnology

Education

President Medvedev initiated new policy called «Our New School» and instructed the government to present a review on the implementation of the initiative every year

Foreign Policy

Russian-Venezuelan military cooperation

On November 25, 2008, a Russian naval fleet arrived in Venezuela, a country the United States considers to be part of its sphere of influence. Russian war ships - including «Peter the Great», which is equipped with missiles - arrived in the port of La Guaira to conduct joint naval exercises with the Venezuelan navy. The incident is seen by many as an echo of the Cuban Missile Crisis of the Cold War Era, and has heightened tensions between Russia and the United States. While Russia maintains that the exercises are nothing more than a method of strengthening ties with Venezuela, the United States believes that the placing of Russian war ships into the American sphere of influence is blatant provocation and a direct retaliation for both the American missile plan in Eastern Europe and interference with the Russia-Georgia situation of August 2008.

North Korean nuclear threat

On May 25, 2009, North Korea's new nuclear test has shocked North Korea's bilateral relations with China and Russia. Russia responded to this new nuclear program by condemning North Korea's move and that it could lead to a nuclear war. North Korea later threatened to attack its neighboring rival South Korea after it joined a U.S. led plan to check vessels suspected of carrying equipment for weapons of mass destruction. Due to this, ambassadors from five permanent veto-wielding council members (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States) were ready to have a meeting to make a new resolution to this nuclear strike. On June 15, 2009, China and Russia have both supported the new UN sanctions on North Korea.

«Reset» of relations under Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev

Despite U.S.-Russia relations becoming strained during the Bush administration, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama struck a warm tone at the 2009 G20 summit in London and released a joint statement that promised a «fresh start» in U.S.-Russia relations. The statement also called on Iran to abandon its nuclear program and to permit foreign inspectors into the country.

In March, 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov symbolically pressed a «reset» button. The gag fell short as the Russian text on the button was wrongly translated by the State Department as «overload» instead of «reset». After making a few jokes, they decided to press the button anyway.

On March 24, 2010 the United States and Russia reached an agreement to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The new nuclear arms reduction treaty (called New START) was signed by President Obama and President Medvedev on April 8, 2010 in Prague. The agreement cut the number of long-range nuclear weapons held by each side to about 1,500, down from the current 1,700 to 2,200 set by the Moscow Treaty of 2002. The New START replaced the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired in December 2009.

In 2010, it was acknowledged that the «rapprochement» with Russia was one of the biggest foreign policy achievements of Barack Obama's presidency so far. Obama's approach to Russia has been described as «pragmatic», and «he refuses to cast Russia as an enemy».^[15]

Vigilant Eagle 2010

In August 2010, the United States and Russia conducted a joint anti-hijacking exercise.

Obama-Medvedev Commission

The Obama-Medvedev Commission, officially known as the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission, was announced on July 6, 2009 by President of the United States Barack Obama and President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev during President Obama's visit to Moscow, as a way to improve communication and cooperation between the governments of Russia and the United States. The two Presidents announced that the work of the Commission would be coordinated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Purpose of the Commission

According to the Mission Statement of the Commission, agreed between the two sides in October 2009, the purpose of the Commission is «identifying areas of cooperation and pursuing joint projects and actions that strengthen strategic stability, international security, economic well-being, and the development of ties between the Russian and American people….the foundation for the work of the commission is based on the core principles of friendship, cooperation, openness, and predictability, and we are resolved to address disagreements openly and honestly in a spirit of mutual respect and acknowledgement of each other's perspective.»

Composition of the Commission

Presidents Obama and Medvedev agreed that the Commission would have thirteen working groups. In October 2009, during the visit to Moscow of Secretary of State Clinton, three additional working groups were added; on Counterterrorism, Environment, and Military to Military. In addition, Sports was added as a sub-group of the Working Group on Education and Cultural Exchanges, and a Policy Steering Group was created, headed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns. The working groups are:

· Policy Steering Group

· Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Security

· Arms Control and International Security

· Drug Trafficking.

· Business Development and Economic Relations.

· Energy and Environment

· Agriculture

· Science and Technologies

· Space Cooperation

· Health

· Cooperation in Prevention and Handling of Emergency Situations

· Civil Society

· Educational and Cultural Exchanges

· Counterterrorism. (Chairmen not named.)

· Environment. (Chairman not named.)

· Military to Military. (Chairmen not named)

Relations with China

In June 2009, between Dmitry Medvedev and President Hu Jintao held talks, after which Medvedev announced the signing of Russian-Chinese agreement in the energy sector by about $ 100 billion [8]. This is the biggest deal in the history of relations between Russia and China.

Relations with the EU

In November 2010 Dmitry Medvedev said that one of the goals in Russia's relations with the European Union is to introduce a visa-free regime



Conclusion

To sum up, I have studied politics of Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, and reached the following conclusions:

1. Before the presidential election Barack Obama has worked in areas such as labor rights, education, energy policy, health care, disability rights, religion. November 18, 2008, he reiterated his commitment to work to achieve significant goals to combat global climate change. He was an early opponent of Iraq policy of President Bush. However, according to Nikolai Zlobin, the closer was the day of the transfer of authority from Bush the new president of the country, the more favorably and positively Barack Obama spoke of his predecessor.

After Obama became president, he is 22 January 2009 signed an executive order to close within a year in prison for terrorism suspects at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo, as promised in the campaign. Also, he managed to reform the health care system, just as he promised February 17, 2009 he signed the anti-recessionary plan at $ 787 billion passed by U.S. Congress. On February, 17th Barack Obama has directed to Afghanistan in addition 17 thousand military men. July 6-8, 2009 Barack Obama made an official working visit to Moscow. During the visit, bilateral agreements were signed, including the transit of U.S. military goods to Afghanistan through Russian territory.

2. Before the presidential election Dmitry Medvedev has worked in areas such as the demographic problem, quality education, modern health care, affordable housing, the solution of social problems of servicemen. In October 2007, Dmitry Medvedev, announced the completion of the project for connecting to the Internet of all Russian schools (59,000). He said in the campaign that the main task of the new post «further development of civil and economic freedoms, the creation of new civilian capabilities.»

Medvedev confirmed the signing of the course of his first decrees that directly relate to the social sphere (the decree «On measures to promote housing construction, the Law on free housing for veterans). September 10, 2009, he published articles on the Internet «Forward Russia», which set out his views on Russia's future and outlined the priorities for technological upgrading. April 8, 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama in Prague signed the treaty on reducing strategic offensive weapons for 10 years, and June 2010, Medvedev visited the United States.

3. Thanks to the policy for new presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, Russia and the U.S. succeeded in warming relations. There was «Reset» of relations between the two countries

March 11, 2011 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev offered his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, gradually switch to visa-free travel between Russia and the U.S.



References

1. Додалев Евгений статья «Барак Горбачев», 2008 г.

2. Зенькович Николай Александрович «Дмитрий Медведев. Третий президент. Энциклопедия» Изд. «Олма Медиа Групп», 2009 г.

3. Медведев Дмитрий. Статья «Россия, вперёд!», 2009 г.

4. Медведев Рой «Дмитрий Медведев - Президент», Изд. «Время», 2008 г.

5. Мендел Дэвид «Барак Обама» = «Obama: From Promise to Power». Изд. «Амфора», 2008 г.

6. Нир Боб «Барак Обама для начинающих. Всё о новом президенте США» = «Barack Obama For Beginners: An Essential Guide», Изд. «Европа», 2009

7. Обама, Барак «Дерзость надежды: Мысли о возрождении американской мечты» = Barack Obama «The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream» / Пер. Т. Камышниковой, А. Митрофанова, Изд. Азбука-классика, 2008 г.

8. Ордовский-Танаевский Ростислав «Мечта о России», Изд. «Известия», 2008 г.

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