INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Dmitry Medvedev as Russian president chomped on a burger at an American diner with Barack Obama, praised independent media and made
ambitious promises of reform to create a more open Russia.But with the Kremlin's war against Ukraine raging for over three months, he now
vows to make enemies of Russia "disappear," warns of military strikes on the West and darkly comments the "horsemen of the apocalypse" are
on their way.What happened to Medvedev, 56, president from 2008-2012 and premier from 2012-2020, once seen by admirers as Russia's great
hope for reform?His path is also emblematic of that of Russia over the last two decades, as the country swung from a potential reliable
member of the international system to the current isolation, inwardness and radicalism."Dmitry Medvedev is, it seems, trying to demonstrate
associate professor of Russian Politics at University College London.As president, Medvedev never stepped out of the shadow of Vladimir
Petersburger to whom he owes his political career.Putin in 2008 had to switch jobs, becoming premier in order not to break constitutional
change.He championed a "reset" of relations with Washington that saw Obama visit Moscow in 2009 and Medvedev the U.S
the next year, famously being presented with an iPhone in Silicon Valley by Apple founder Steve Jobs.In April 2011, he popped into the
studios of independent TV channel Dozhd (Rain), giving an interview and declaring it a "great place" as his Kremlin sought to cautiously
cultivate independent media.He attempted to take on the mantle of reforming Tsar Alexander II who abolished serfdom, saying Russia's current
hydrocarbon-dependent economic model was at a "dead-end" while political freedom "cannot be put off for another day."Medvedev boasted of an
affinity with Western culture, proclaiming to be a fan of U.S
rock band Linkin Park and seizing the chance to meet his music heroes like Bono of U2 and Deep Purple.Most remarkably of all, it was on
social media, sending his first tweet (a jolly "Hello everyone!") from Silicon Valley in 2010.He was also tripped up by new media in a 2017
viral video by the now-jailed opposition challenger Alexei Navalny which alleged he had embezzled over a billion dollars from the state and
often asked why my Telegram posts are so harsh
The answer is I hate them
They are bastards and degenerates," he wrote Tuesday."They want death for us, Russia
And while I'm alive, I will do everything to make them disappear," he added, without making explicit who "they" represented.'Horsemen of the
apocalypse'His comments shocked even those who had become accustomed to his tough-talking."This is indeed remarkable
threatens the people of Ukraine with extermination," Carl Bildt, who was Swedish foreign minister throughout Medvedev's presidency, wrote on
Twitter.Tikhon Dzyadko, the editor in chief of TV Rain, wrote: "Someone better sometimes get hold of his phone." TV Rain, the channel
Medvedev visited so eagerly, is now blocked in Russia and due to resume broadcasting from abroad.It was far from the first time Medvedev has
raised hackles on Telegram, in an account he only opened on March 17 with a declaration that Russia has "enough power to put in their place
all the brazen enemies of our country."On May 12, he issued a spine-chilling warning that the West's arming of Ukraine was creating a proxy
with systems from the US, Moscow would hit back with strikes on "decision-making centers" in the West.The most jolting of all his statements
came in an interview with Al-Jazeera where he stated that in the current circumstances "the horsemen of the apocalypse are already on their
way and we can only now put faith in God."'A river you can swim in twice'Yet Medvedev's shift in tone also keeps him in line with Russian
politicians adopting ultra-hawkish rhetoric, such as parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin or Security Council secretary Nikolai
Patrushev.Both have been mooted as possible successors to Putin as rumors swirl about his health
But might Medvedev be tempted by a Kremlin return?"Never say never, especially as I swam in that river once and this is a river that you can
swim in twice," he told AFP in a November 2012 interview.Noble, co-author of a recent book on Navalny, said the chances of Medvedev had been
discounted as he lacks a support base, including within the security services."Might his recent radical rhetoric be an attempt to try to
change that? That's one possibility," he said.
