Svetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva (russian: Светлана Владимировна Медведева, ;

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Linnik, ; born 15 March 1965) is a Russian economist who was the First Lady of Russia from 2008 to 2012. She is married to the former

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

Early years

Svetlana Linnik was born into a military family in

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

, a town administered by

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Medvedeva was the youngest child in her family. Dmitry Medvedev and his wife Svetlana Medvedeva

Medvedeva was active in extracurricular activities in school, and took an active part in school-held

KVN ''KVN'' (russian: КВН, an abbreviation of , ''Klub Vesyólykh i Nakhódchivykh'' or ''Ka-Ve-En'', "Club of the Funny and Inventive") is a Russian (and formerly Soviet) humour TV show and an international competition where teams (usually comp ...

s, spectacles, performances and other events. Medvedeva met her future husband in

Middle School A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

#305, in , near

. In 1987, Medvedeva began studying at the

Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance (''Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет экономики и финансов'') was a public university in Saint Petersburg, Ru ...

. In her first year at the university, Medvedeva switched to taking evening courses and started working full-time. The Medvedevs married in 1993, after they had completed their studies. In 1995, Medvedeva gave birth to their son, Ilya, and stopped working. In the same year, Medvedeva was baptized into the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

Political activity

After the couple moved to Moscow, Medvedeva directed several Russian-Italian initiatives, ''Sister cities

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

–

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

'' and ''

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

–

'', which intended to develop tourism between these cities. In 2006, Medvedeva initiated the annual Russian Art Festival in

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...

, Italy.

34th G8 summit member's spouses 20080708 2

Dmitry Medvedev in Finland 21 April 2009-9

Medvedeva became First Lady when her husband,

, took over as President following his victory in Russian Presidential elections on 7 May 2008. In the same year, Medvedeva headed the initiative for the institution of Family Day in Russia. Medvedeva has already caused something of a media frenzy, even though she shies away from photographers and rarely gives interviews. Medvedeva currently chairs the management council of multi-tier program ''Spiritual and moral culture of younger generation of Russia'' created with blessing of Alexy II of Moscow. In an interview, Medvedeva detailed her views on the interaction between the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

and the Government of Russia in promoting family policies. Medvedeva has taken up an

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...

cause in Russia's efforts to restrict abortion in 2011. On 20 August 2010, Medvedeva visited the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

and the

History Museum of Armenia The History Museum of Armenia (armenian: Հայաստանի պատմության թանգարան) is a museum in Armenia with departments of Archaeology, Numismatics, Ethnography, Modern History and Restoration. It has a national collection of ...

, along with visiting the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

n First Lady, Rita Sargsyan. Together they admired the works of various painters, including

Ivan Aivazovsky Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (russian: link=no, Иван Константинович Айвазовский; 29 July 18172 May 1900) was a Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art. Baptized ...

, Vardges Surenyants, Gevorg Bashinjaghyan, and Panos Terlemezyan. Following the exhibition, the Armenian First Lady showed her a 5500-year-old shoe, which was discovered in 2008 in the Vayots Dzor Province. Medvedeva is an

activist, and has been pushing for restrictions on abortion.

Family

Svetlana married Dmitry Medvedev on 24 December 1993. The couple have a son, Ilya, born on 3 August 1995.5 фактов о Светлане Медведевой
Биография С. Медведевой на личном сайте мужа
1 September 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Medvedeva, Svetlana 1965 births Living people People from Kronstadt First Ladies of Russia Saint Petersburg University of Economics and Finance alumni Dmitry Medvedev Russian anti-abortion activists Russian Orthodox Christians from Russia Russian women economists