Dmitry Medvedev goes on emotional rampage about the West

Dmitry Medvedev's aggressive post on social media, in which he used politically incorrect vocabulary to express hatred of the West, caused mixed reactions.

Dmitry Medvedev becomes Russia's "hawk" No.1

Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation and heads the United Russia party, ex-president of the Russian Federation, expressed his point of view about Russia's relations with the West.

"I hate them (Westerners). They are bastards and degenerates. They want us, Russia, dead. As long as I live, I will do my best to make them disappear,” Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel.

When looking through Dmitry Medvedev's previous posts, we found an opinion that he called: "About hatred." In the post, Medvedev reflected on the subject of Western sanctions that, accordant his opinion, target the people of Russia in the first place, rather than the elites.

The Western sanctions are based on hatred for Russia. The West despises Russia and the Russians, the Russian culture and religion, Medvedev believes.

"This hatred is disgusting and irrational. Yet, this does not mean that we should put up with it. We just need to draw all the necessary conclusions for the future. We need to keep this attitude towards us in mind, and we should not forgive those who hate us. Never," Medvedev wrote.

Tit for tat, an eye for an eye — the strong lashes the weak.

Medvedev has changed a lot

Medvedev's post triggered a lot of controversial comments on Telegram.

Zakhar Prilepin: There was a time when people in Russia thought that Limonov and Prokhanov were too harsh and radical, that it was too much. People also thought of Dmitry Medvedev as "the secret leader of the liberal party." "One must live long in Russia." Nowadays, against the background of Medvedev, Alexander Prokhanov appears to be a kind elderly man from a good old fairy tale (Prokhanov is editor-in-chief of Russia's extreme-right[2] Zavtra newspaper that combines ultranationalist and anti-capitalist views — ed.).

Another user wrote: "Blogger Medvedev seems to have over-trolled himself. How bizarre. When Medvedev had a blog on LiveJournal during his presidency, he did not make such astral walks."

Belarusian political scientist Aleksey Dzermant: "I have never considered myself a supporter of Dmitry Medvedev in view of a certain history in its relations with Belarus, but let the dead bury the dead, and I completely understand him here. The more you get to know the West, the more you develop such feelings. I hope that the West will never sprout again in Russia."

Political scientist Veronika Krasheninnikova:

"I would like to think that the account has been hacked. If not, then things are really bad.”

Political scientist Alexander Dugin: "Medvedev is absolutely right, but why hasn't this just hatred affected his presidency in any way? Or has it affected it only at one point, when he returned the post to Putin?"

Here are a few other opinions:

"Medvedev's post appears to be like communal kitchen style comments. They do not contribute to the current work of Russian diplomats and pro-Russian lobbyists who seek to undermine the weak European unity and arrange the supplies of critically important technologies and goods for the Russian economy during the transitional import substitution period. Instead of the professional analysis about how serious the sanctions are and how to confront them — an analysis that one would expect from Medvedev — Medvedev's speech presents nothing but hysterical emotions."

Medvedev's presidential ambition

Some also suggest that there are two factors that may explain Medvedev's sharply increased public activity.

1. With these statements, he wants to "rid of the negative image that he earned as a result of his presidency, when Russia developed technological dependence on imports from the West under his leadership.
2. Medvedev wants to obtain a new electoral base, because he gets most of his support among liberals and oligarchs of the Yeltsin era. Most of them either left Russia after February 24 or were critically weakened politically and economically."

The position that Medvedev expressed on Telegram is not the position that would suit the Russian president, experts conclude.

Ed. note: It was reported on June 5 that Dmitry Medvedev's son, Ilya Medvedev, who currently resides in the United States, could be deported to Russia. According to unconfirmed reports, US authorities revoked his visa and ordered Ilya Medvedev to leave the territory of the United states within 48 hours. This may explain Dmitry Medvedev's fit of anger too.