Who is Dmitry Medvedev? Ex-Russian president who made Trump position 2 nuclear submarines

Dmitry Medvedev served as the President of Russia from 2008-2012 with Vladimir Putin as his Prime Minister.

Updated on: Aug 3, 2025, 22:53:22 IST

By HT News Desk

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Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently serving as deputy chair of the security council of the Russian Federation, is embroiled in a social media spat with United States President Donald Trump, prompting the latter to order the deployment of two nuclear submarines.

Dmitry Medvedev’s parents were university professors and he studied law. (File/AP)

Responding to Trump’s ultimatums to Russia for stopping the war in Ukraine, Medvedev said that such ultimatums could trigger a war between the US and Russia.

“Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!” he said in a post on X.

Calling these remarks “provocative”, Trump said that he has ordered deployment of two nuclear submarines in case Medvedev’s remarks are more than just ‘inflammatory statements’. “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Who is Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev served as the President of Russia from 2008-2012 with Vladimir Putin as his Prime Minister. He took the office after Putin was barred from standing again as he had already served two terms, according to the Russian law at the time.
After 2012, Putin and Medvedev switched places and the latter served as the Prime Minister of Russia till 2020, after which he was replaced by Mikhail Mishustin. Medvedev took a new role at Russia’s security council in 2020.
Dmitry Medvedev’s parents were university professors and he studied law. Before entering politics, he briefly worked in the private sector too.
When Dmitry Medvedev became Russia’ President, the West initially viewed him as someone who would work towards rebuilding ties with the United States. He also signed the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with President Barack Obama in 2009.
Under Medvedev’s presidency, Russia also saw a brief but impactful five-day war with its neighbour Georgia in 2008.
Medvedev has been a champion of the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has been going on for over three years now. At several instances, Medvedev has warned of the risk of a nuclear "apocalypse".
He has employed aggressive rhetoric against Ukraine ever since the war began, even calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a criminal, a drug addict, a louse, a rat and a freak. At one point, he also referred to Ukrainians as "cockroaches".
Lately, Medvedev has managed to provoke a sharp reaction from the West as he has been engaged in an online war of words with US President Donald Trump.
Medvedev accused Trump of playing the “ultimatum game with Russia”, which, he threatened, could lead to a direct war between Russia and the US. This escalated after Trump ordered deployment of “two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions”.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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HT News Desk
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