Long considered as a liberal, the ex-Prime Minister and lining of Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin poses today in a hawk of the regime and claims the restoration of the death penalty.
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“I hate them. They are bastards and degenerate. They want death for us, for Russia. And as long as I live, I will do everything to make them disappear.” Lapidary, Dmitri Medvedev’s last message On the Telegram social network, Tuesday, June 7, has the merit of clarity, even if a doubt remains as for this “they” to whom the former Russian president has such a fierce hatred. Ukrainians? Unlikely, the Russian public speech persisting in presenting the neighboring country as a victim, in a way, of a misunderstanding. The Westerners ? More surely, as this discourse has become a constant in the current number two of the Russian Security Council, whose virulence is proportional to the image of “liberal” which he dragged so far.
The Telegram thread of Mr. Medvedev, opened only in March (for years, the Russian authorities tried to block the messaging service before renouncing), is full of these projections against the West “odious, criminal and Immoral “and warnings:” Russia has enough power to put all these unleashed enemies against our country in its place. “Its references to a nuclear confrontation are frequent and the head of the Security Council, an institution which has taken The importance in favor of the conflict in Ukraine also requires the restoration of the death penalty.
Surprisingly for a man who, because he was keen on rock and a follower of new technologies, was long perceived as a “pro-Western” and a liberal. His visit to the Kremlin, between 2008 and 2012, will be marked by promises – not held – of political openness and economic liberalization. Eternal Vladimir Putin lining, promoted to President of the United Russian ruling party since 2012, he had then returned to rank and had recovered his Prime Minister chair, until 2020.
Its transformation into a hawk is not entirely new. In October 2021, he had published a remarkable article, taking up the word of his mentor on Ukraine to call to “stop contacts” with the leaders of this country. He mentioned in particular “certain ethnic roots” (Jewish) of Volodymyr Zelensky as aggravating reason for the supposed rallying of the Ukrainian president “Nazi” positions.
“New reality”
Does he believe it himself, Dmitri Medvedev? This is the question that observers are regularly asked, most often sharp in the negative. “He adapts to the new reality, notes the political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya, a good connoisseur of the Russian elites. The more liberal you have been in the past, the more hard you have to be hard to stay at the political avant-garde. “
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