From a democrat to 'broken man' feuding with Trump, the rise and fall of Russia's Dmitry Medvedev

Few world leaders have had downfalls like Dmitry Medvedev, the former President of Russia once seen as a democrat who could liberalise the country.

Far from the democrat who once stood beside Barack Obama and delivered statesman-like remarks, Medvedev now functions as a rabid attack dog of Russian leader Vladimir Putin who threatens Western capitals with nuclear attacks , abuses Western leaders, and launches into xenophobic attacks on social media.

Medvedev served as the President of Russia during 2008-12 when Putin became the Prime Minister because of presidential term limits. Initially, he showed reformist streaks and acted as someone who appeared to be putting Russia on the path of democratisation. The phase did not last long as Putin made it clear that he held the real power. In 2012, Putin returned as the president and appointed Medvedev as the prime minister — an office he held till 2020.

In 2020, in a demotion that would have forced a politician in any other country to retire altogether in shame, Putin appointed Medvedev as the Deputy Chairperson of the Security Council of Russia, a position equivalent to that of the National Security Advisor of the United States.

In 25 years of his rule, Putin has crushed all opposition to his rule , killed the free press, jailed, exiled, or killed opposition leaders. With Medvedev’s relegation to the Security Council, he removed perhaps the last person from a position of power that could have held any democratic streak.

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Here we explore the rise and fall of Medvedev, who went on to become the Russian president from a lawyer — and then got reduced to an attack dog.

From a municipal lawyer to President of Russia

Medvedev first met Putin in 1990 when he joined the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Mayor of St Petersburg. The committee was headed by Putin.

Medvedev and Putin became friends. The friendship would go on to define Medvedev’s career.

At the time, Putin had just entered politics after leaving the Soviet spy agency KGB. Unlike him, Medvedev did not come from government background. He was a lawyer and was in academia briefly.

As Putin moved from St Petersburg to Moscow, Medvedev moved to the Russian capital as well, serving first as Putin’s personal lawyer and later playing a key role in the 2000 presidential election that Putin won.

Under Putin, Medvedev served in several positions, such as his Deputy Chief of Staff, Chairman of Gazprom, and Chief of Staff, before being appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister in 2005.

In 2008, Medvedev took over as the President of Russia. In what initially appeared to be a pivotal moment that many hoped would put Russia on the path of democratisation and check Putin’s consolidation of power, he initially embarked on anti-corruption campaign, sought to instil scientific temper and promote technological innovation, and advocated for civil society development in Russia. But he was put in place mid-term by Putin.

The rise as democrat and fall to irrelevance

As the President of Russia, Medvedev once stood beside Obama and announced that “the solution of many world problems depends on the joint will of the United States and Russia”.

Far from the attack dog that now threatens Western capitals with nuclear strikes, Medvedev said at the time that the United States and Russia “have the major nuclear arsenals and we have full responsibility for those arsenals”.

Medvedev’s democratic streaks and perception as a moderniser paved the way for his doom. In Putin’s Russia, after all, there was no place for democracy or modernity.

Medvedev once held democratic convictions and it is quite possible that, at some point, Putin saw him as a genuine threat and decided to break him and relegate him to the Security Council where he does not have any real executive power, according to Kseniya Kirillova, a Russia analyst at the Washington DC-based think tank Jamestown Foundation.

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Breaking Medvedev as a leader and forcing him to be a radical attack dog hit many birds with one stone for Putin.

“As Putin likely saw Medvedev as a threat, he chose to break him completely by assigning him the role of a radical. This humiliating, almost buffoonish, role that Medvedev now plays is most likely the result of fear of Putin. The Kremlin, in turn, uses him to test public opinion both within Russia and abroad. Therefore, Medvedev’s behaviour should not be interpreted as indicative of any significant internal processes,” says Kirillova.