Once A Hope Of Russian Liberals And The West, Medvedev Beats A Bellicose Drum To Stay Safe, Relevant

Former President Dmitry Medvedev's opinion article in the daily Kommersant in October 2021, ahead of Russia's massive military buildup along the Ukrainian border, was as surreal as it was acerbic.

Medvedev, who owes his political career and his seemingly enormous wealth to Russian President Vladimir Putin, lashed out at Ukraine's leaders, calling them "weak," "nonindependent," and corrupt and adding there was no sense in negotiating with them.

...

Maria Snegovaya, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank, says the upsurge in Medvedev's belligerent public rhetoric is an attempt to demonstrate loyalty to Putin at a time of growing political infighting. "Medvedev may want to signal to everyone that he is part of the system, that he is essentially by Putin's side," she told RFE/RL.

"I think he is desperate to at least secure some safety. His goal right now is to survive [within the system], not to climb his way back on the top of the vertical," she said, a reference to Medvedev's loss of influence since the end of presidency in 2012 and his loss of the prime minister's post in 2020.

Read the full story and more from Radio Free Europe.