MOSCOW — It might be a tale out of a 19th century Russian storybook: A clerkish young lawyer apprenticed to a powerful man rises, through Byzantine political intrigue, to become ruler of Russia.
But Dmitry Medvedev is not guaranteed a fairy tale ending.
The 42-year-old lawyer, who has long served as an adviser, fixer and friend to Vladimir Putin, will be inaugurated as Russia’s president Wednesday. The ceremony will mark the start of three days of pomp and circumstance that will include Putin being named prime minister Thursday and the annual Victory Day parade Friday in Red Square.
Medvedev, the scholarly son of university professors who has a taste for designer clothes and heavy-metal music, becomes the leader of the world’s largest nation in geography, one of the richest in natural resources — and one of the most turbulent in terms of history.
In December, Putin picked Medvedev, then deputy prime minister, as his successor, even though he had never held elective office and has no political base of his own. The Kremlin engineered Medvedev’s election in March.
Ever the loyal protege, Medvedev has pledged to “supplement and develop” Putin’s programs. But Russia’s new president has shown some signs of trying to move out of his mentor’s shadow.
Medvedev has rejected suggestions he will be Prime Minister Putin’s junior.
“It is the president who sets out the main directions of domestic and foreign policy,” he told Britain’s Financial Times in March. “He’s the commander in chief, he makes key decisions on forming the executive. He’s the guarantor of rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.”
Medvedev, the youngest Russian leader in nearly a century, has promised to strengthen the rule of law, tame Russia’s ferocious bureaucrats and reduce the role of the state in the economy. Most strikingly, he has rejected the notion popular among Kremlin officials that Russia requires a “managed” democracy because of its unique history and culture.
All of these positions could be seen as implicit criticisms of Putin, who has presided over a growing bureaucracy, expanded the role of state enterprises and shackled the country’s political opposition.
To change Russia’s course, Medvedev would have to battle the entrenched interests of bureaucrats and top government officials, many of them veterans of the Soviet-era KGB and other security agencies. Some have reportedly grown enormously wealthy during Putin’s tenure and will not welcome change.
“I think one thing is dead clear,” said Yevgenia Albats, a prominent commentator and radio show host. The double-headed state, she predicted, will inevitably lead to power struggles. “We have entered a period of profound instability in the country.”
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev
Age: 42. Born Sept. 14, 1965, in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), to university professors.
Education: Law degree from Leningrad State University (now St. Petersburg State University).
Experience: Taught law at St. Petersburg State University, 1990-1999; Worked with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg city hall, then in private industry before Putin recruited him to work in the Kremlin.
In November 2005, he was appointed one of two first deputy prime ministers, charged with leading efforts to improve key sectors including housing and health care; board chairman of state natural-gas monopoly Gazprom, 2002-present.
Family: Married to Svetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva; son, Ilya, born in 1996.
Personal: Enjoys vintage Western heavy-metal music, including Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin. Favors designer suits and electronic gadgets. The Associated Press
