Baby-faced Dmitry Medvedev keeps fish tank in his office and listens to Black Sabbath

First Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, named as Putin’s successor, has become the main figure of countless publications, TV, radio news and various commentaries. Now when the name of Russia’s next president has been exposed, journalists started hunting for details of his private life.

Photo: Baby-faced Dmitry Medvedev keeps fish tank in his office and listens to Black Sabbath

Nikolai Zenkovich in his book “Putin’s Encyclopedia” describes biographies of more than 400 persons who relate to Putin’s political career directly or not. According to the book, Dmitry Medvedev, when studying at the Department of Law of Leningrad State University, used to go to collective farms to lend agricultural assistance under the direction of would-be St.Petersburg mayor Anatoly Sobchak. In March 2000 Putin named three persons whom he was in close companionship with: Dmitry Medvedev, Sergei Ivanov and Nikolai Patrushev. He also mentioned that it was Alexander Voloshin (the former chairman of the presidential administration) who chose Medvedev for the position of his deputy. “Medvedev should work as a deputy to be able to replace me,” Putin cited Voloshin.

In 2005 Medvedev published an article in which he declared that the fight of different groups in Putin’s administration was just a myth and political cliché.

Nikolai Zenkovich who is thought to be one of the most informed political analysts characterized Medvedev as an imperturbable person. In the Kremlin, they gave Medvedev a short but meaningful nickname – Vizier. The successor also has some human foibles: he keeps a fish tank in his office and feeds the fish only by himself.

When studying at school, Medvedev went in for sports, especially weightlifting, rowing, and athletics. Dmitry Medvedev met his wife, Svetlana, when he was a seven-year-old boy. They have thus been together for 35 years. They studied together, but developed a closer relationship in their 20s. The couple got married at age 24. Seven years later Svetlana gave birth to their son, Ilya.

Nowadays, Svetlana Medvedev is actively involved in Russian show and fashion business. She supports the Festival of Russian Art in Cannes and does charity. Svetlana maintains close ties with Russia’s biggest pop star Alla Pugacheva and most famous fashion designer of Russia, Valentin Yudashkin.

Medvedev, dubbed by Western press as a baby-faced man, is a big fan of music. He prefers to listen to hard rock: Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple are his favorite bands. Medvedev likes to play vinyl disks, not CDs.

Dmitry Medvedev tries to keep up his shape: he has a treadmill in his home and he regularly works out. When he has free time, Medvedev likes to play chess. As for television, he is a fan of Discovery channel.

Prepared by Dmitry Sudakov
Pravda.ru