Fifteen years ago, Dmitry Medvedev called for a free-thinking, future-focused Russia. This year, he’s advocated election interference, asset seizure, and Europe’s ‘humiliation.’
Fifteen years ago today, then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave an address to the country’s Federal Assembly in which he advocated for Russia’s “comprehensive modernization,” the “values and institutions of democracy,” and an economy grounded in “humanist ideals.” This rhetoric stands in stark contrast to the frenzied Telegram posts Medvedev has regularly fired out over the last year. Meduza shares some excerpts from his statements then and now to highlight how profoundly his politics — and Russia’s — have changed over the last decade and a half.
On the Soviet Union
Medvedev in 2009
The prestige of the Fatherland and national prosperity cannot be endlessly defined by the achievements of the past. [...]
In the last century, at the cost of immense human efforts, an agrarian, practically illiterate country was transformed into one of the most influential industrial powers of its time, leading the development of a number of advanced technologies of that era: space technology, rocket technology, and nuclear technology. But in the conditions of a closed society and a totalitarian political regime, these positions could not be maintained. The Soviet Union, unfortunately, remained an industrial-raw materials giant and could not withstand competition with post-industrial societies. (Federal Assembly Address, November 12, 2009)
Medvedev in 2024
Looking at the biography of the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, [Oleksandr] Syrskyi, one feels a sense of hatred, contempt, and disgust. Hatred for all those involved in the collapse of the Soviet Union (and essentially the Russian Empire), a collapse that entailed the disappearance of a vast country that once balanced the world order, and that condemned millions to suffering and death. (Telegram, February 9, 2024)
On NATO and the West
Medvedev in 2009
We’re sometimes accused of proposing [the European Security Treaty and other security mechanisms] in an effort to undermine NATO. This isn’t true. We don’t build our foreign policy “against anyone” at all. However, we’re also not members of NATO. (Federal Assembly Address, November 12, 2009)
Medvedev in 2024
And one more thing: I hope that our eternal enemies, the arrogant British, understand that the deployment of their official military contingent in Ukraine will mean declaring war on our country. (Telegram, January 12, 2024)
There’s also non-systematic opposition in the West. However, it’s not miserable and corrupt like ours, but much more reasonable and decent. […]
This still-irregular opposition clearly sees all the flaws of the current liberal globalism and the America-centered world order. And our task is to support such politicians and their parties in the West in every way we can, helping them achieve worthy results in elections, both openly and covertly. (Telegram, February 3, 2024)
Unfortunately, nothing has changed in the past 160 years. Our tasks remain the same — the maximum weakening and humiliation of the West, including Europe. (Telegram, October 21, 2024)
On Russian society and the economy
Medvedev in 2009
Instead of an archaic society in which leaders think and make decisions for everyone, we will become a society of smart, free, and responsible people. [...]
An innovative economy can only form within a specific social context, as part of an innovative culture based on humanistic ideals, creative freedom, and the pursuit of improving people’s quality of life. [...]
We must do everything to ensure that [Russian] specialists are motivated to work in their own country. This means creating a constant support mechanism and attracting the most reputable Russian and foreign scientists.
(Federal Assembly Address, November 12, 2009)
Medvedev in 2024
Therefore, the response can only be asymmetrical. And by the way, it’s not a given that it will be any less painful. This refers to actions such as enforcing court decisions to seize the property of private individuals under Russian jurisdiction (money, real estate, tangible assets, and property rights). Yes, this is a complex issue because these individuals usually acted as investors in the Russian economy, and we guaranteed the inviolability of their private property rights. But the unexpected happened: their country declared a hybrid war against us, including legal and judicial warfare. (Telegram, April 27, 2024)