Former President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev has been attracting attention with his outrageous outings for some time now. His posts on social media have become increasingly shocking and deranged over the past year.
Among other things, Medvedev has urged the Japanese Prime Minister to commit suicide and threatened The Hague in Holland with bombings. The International Criminal Court ICC is located in The Hague, which made the president Vladimir About Putin arrest warrant in March.
Regarding Ukraine, Medvedev’s speeches show direct incitement to genocide. This is what he wrote in the instant messaging service Telegram in the summer of 2022:
– I hate them. They are bastards and freaks. As long as I have the spirit in me, I will do everything in my power to wipe them off the world map.
The Russian government made it difficult to use Twitter and declared Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, an “extremist organization” in April of last year, but it has not stopped Medvedev from tweeting diligently.
In his recent tweet, he justifies “why Ukraine is disappearing from the world map” with a list of six points. Medvedev goes through how “no one needs Ukraine”.
He also claims that Ukrainians don’t need “Nazi Ukraine” either. He calls the Ukrainians blood-sucking parasites and suggests that the remaining Ukrainians could join the penguins in Antarctica.
Finns remember Medvedev from 15 years ago as a young, well-behaved man who was loyal to Putin. Putin elevated him to the presidency in 2008.
A peculiar twist followed. Putin became prime minister, and when Putin became president again in 2012, Medvedev became prime minister.
Medvedev held that position until 2020, when he moved to his current position as vice-chairman of the Russian Security Council.
When he was president, Medvedev was considered a liberal politician by Russian standards.
– Medvedev’s comments during his presidency were very different. He was profiled as softer and liberal, a senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Jussi Lassila says.
So what the hell happened to Medvedev, and what should we think of him now?
Radical loyalty drove him to become a court jester
Lassila will be the first to attack Medvedev’s current position.
Medvedev holds the vice-presidency in the important council, but according to Lassila, he has in fact completely sidetracked Russia’s decision-making.
– If you consider that he has been prime minister and president, the collapse of his position is remarkable, says Lassila.
According to Lassila, a weak position and loyalty to Putin are the combination that has plunged Medvedev into his current role.
– The general explanation is that his weak position and radical loyalty to Putin have driven him to become Putin’s court jester.
However, Lassila cannot help but be surprised by Medvedev’s “exuberant rant”.
– It’s hard to say whether there are problems with alcohol or the psyche, maybe both. However, such an ungodly radical and completely fascist tone is an open question.
In Russia’s siloviki, i.e. the tough faces of foreign policy, it is very rude to be hostile towards Ukraine, but Medvedev’s outbursts are in a class of their own.
According to Lassila, it can be concluded that Medvedev feels his position is hopeless. It would seem that there is fear behind the squealing.
According to Lassila, Medvedev is weighed down by his previous role as a liberal politician.
– Everyone is under suspicion in Russia, and Medvedev has a large liberal ballast. It’s worth nothing. That may explain why he speaks so harshly of internal traitors and pro-Western parties.
From a university teacher considered Putin’s puppet
Medvedev grew up in a civilized family as an only child. His father Anatoly Medvedev worked as a teacher at the Leningrad Technical Institute. Mum Julia Medvedeva taught languages and literature at Herzen College.
Dmitri graduated as a lawyer from Leningrad State University. He also initially worked in teaching positions, teaching Roman law at the University of St. Petersburg. According to Lassila, Medvedev was a well-liked teacher who was well-versed in law and jurisprudence.
Now he has profiled himself as a defender of martial laws and emergency laws.
– According to Medvedev, there is no need to care about constitutions, and traitors in the world can be killed. The change in his thinking is truly radical.
According to Lassila, Medvedev’s conscious decision to position himself as an advocate of Putin’s war rhetoric reveals that he was also only Putin’s puppet when he was president.
– After all, he would have had the constitutional right to fire Putin and send him to Siberia if he wanted to. This shows that he is very much indebted to Putin for his political rise.
Lassila considers it possible that Medvedev could still aspire to the position of president. Some members of the Russian elite have sought credibility for themselves by traveling to Donbas in eastern Ukraine, but Medvedev has not made a first trip there. And he hasn’t been seen in Putin’s company for a long time either.
According to the researcher, it can also be concluded that Medvedev has been forced into the role of a statistician.
Medvedev’s popularity in Russia has been in the bottom for a long time anyway, and his position has probably only worsened as a result of the writings, Lassila estimates.
– He is a jester. Everyone understands what is behind such a roar.
What kind of thoughts does Medvedev’s communication evoke? You can discuss the topic on Tue 25.4. until 11 p.m.