1.
Russo-Georgian War
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The Russo-Georgian War was a war between Georgia, Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The war took place in August 2008 following a period of worsening relations between Russia and Georgia, both constituent republics of the Soviet Union. The fighting took place in the strategically important Transcaucasia region, which borders the Middle East and it was regarded as the first European war of the 21st century. The Republic of Georgia declared its independence in early 1991 as the Soviet Union began to fall apart, following the war, a joint peacekeeping force of Georgian, Russian, and Ossetian troops was stationed in the territory. Meanwhile, a stalemate developed in the region of Abkhazia. By August 1,2008, Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages, to put an end to these deadly attacks and restore order, the Georgian Army was sent to the South Ossetian conflict zone on 7 August. Georgians took control of most of Tskhinvali, a separatist stronghold, Georgia later stated it was also responding to Russia moving non-peacekeeping units into the country. Russia accused Georgia of aggression against South Ossetia, and launched a land, air. Russian and Ossetian forces battled Georgian forces in and around South Ossetia for several days, Russian and Abkhaz forces opened a second front by attacking the Kodori Gorge held by Georgia. Russian naval forces blockaded part of the Georgian coast and this was the first war in history in which cyber warfare coincided with military action. An active information war was waged during and after the conflict. President of France Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated an agreement on 12 August. Russian forces temporarily occupied the Georgian cities of Zugdidi, Senaki, Poti, the South Ossetians destroyed most ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and were responsible for an ethnic cleansing of Georgians. Russia recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia as separate republics on 26 August, in response, Russia mostly completed its withdrawal of troops from Georgia proper on 8 October. In the aftermath, Russias international relations were largely unharmed, the war displaced 192,000 people and while many returned to their homes after the war,20,272 people remained displaced as of 2014. Russia has, since the war, occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia in violation of the agreement of August 2008. In the tenth century AD, Georgia for the first time emerged as a concept in the territories where the Georgian language was used to perform Christian rituals. After the Mongol invasions of the region, the Kingdom of Georgia eventually was broken up into several kingdoms, in the nineteenth century, the Russian Empire gradually annexed the Georgian lands
2.
Black Sea
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The Black Sea is a body of water between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. It is supplied by a number of rivers, such as the Danube, Dnieper, Rioni, Southern Bug. The Black Sea has an area of 436,400 km2, a depth of 2,212 m. It is constrained by the Pontic Mountains to the south and by the Caucasus Mountains to the east, the longest east-west extent is about 1,175 km. The Black Sea has a water balance, that is, a net outflow of water 300 km3 per year through the Bosphorus. Mediterranean water flows into the Black Sea as part of a two-way hydrological exchange, the Black Sea drains into the Mediterranean Sea and then the Atlantic Ocean, via the Aegean Sea and various straits. The Bosphorus Strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and these waters separate Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch, the water level has varied significantly. Due to these variations in the level in the basin. At certain critical water levels it is possible for connections with surrounding water bodies to become established and it is through the most active of these connective routes, the Turkish Straits, that the Black Sea joins the world ocean. When this hydrological link is not present, the Black Sea is a basin, operating independently of the global ocean system. Currently the Black Sea water level is high, thus water is being exchanged with the Mediterranean. The Turkish Straits connect the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea, and comprise the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Black Sea as follows, On the Southwest. The Northeastern limit of the Sea of Marmara, a line joining Cape Takil and Cape Panaghia. Strabos Geographica reports that in antiquity, the Black Sea was often just called the Sea, for the most part, Graeco-Roman tradition refers to the Black Sea as the Hospitable sea, Εὔξεινος Πόντος Eúxeinos Póntos. This is a euphemism replacing an earlier Inhospitable Sea, Πόντος Ἄξεινος Póntos Áxeinos, strabo thinks that the Black Sea was called inhospitable before Greek colonization because it was difficult to navigate, and because its shores were inhabited by savage tribes. The name was changed to hospitable after the Milesians had colonized the southern shoreline and it is also possible that the epithet Áxeinos arose by popular etymology from a Scythian word axšaina- unlit, dark, the designation Black Sea may thus date from antiquity. A map of Asia dating to 1570, entitled Asiae Nova Descriptio, from Abraham Orteliuss Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, english-language writers of the 18th century often used the name Euxine Sea to refer to the Black Sea
3.
Black Sea Fleet
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The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic command of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. Its ships are based in various harbors of the Black Sea and it is considered to have been founded by Prince Potemkin on May 13,1783, together with its principal base, the city of Sevastopol. Russia struggled for a time against its main rival in the region. The Black Sea Fleet defeated the Turks in 1790, and fought the Ottomans during World War I, the Romanians during World War II, the division of the fleet in 1997 became the basis of the Ukrainian Navy. The Black Sea Fleet is considered to have founded by Prince Potemkin on May 13,1783, together with its principal base. Formerly commanded by such legendary admirals as Dmitriy Senyavin and Pavel Nakhimov, in 1790, Russian naval forces under the command of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov defeated the Turkish fleet at the Battle of Kerch Strait. From 1841 onward, the fleet was confined to the Black Sea by the London Straits Convention, the crew of the battleship Potemkin revolted in 1905 soon after the Navys defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. Lenin wrote that the Potemkin uprising had had an importance in terms of being the first attempt at creating the nucleus of a revolutionary army. During World War I, there were a number of encounters between the Russian and Ottoman navies in the Black Sea, german submarines of the Constantinople Flotilla and Turkish light forces would continue to raid and harass Russian shipping until the wars end. During the Russian Civil War, the vast majority of the Black Sea Fleet was scuttled by Bolsheviks in Novorossiysk, most of the ships became part of the Russian Squadron of Wrangls armed forces and after the evacuation sailed to Tunisia. Out of those ships, some were passed to the French Navy, few ships that did stay in Black Sea were salvaged in the 1920s, while a large scale new construction programme began in the 1930s. Over 500 new ships were built during that period as well as expansion of coastal infrastructure took place. The Fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral F. S, oktyabrskiy on the outbreak of war with Germany in June 1941. The Fleet gave an account of itself as it fought alongside the Red Army during the Siege of Odessa. In 1952, Turkey decided to join NATO, placing the Bosporus Strait in the Western sphere of influence, together with the advent of long-range nuclear weapons, this dramatically decreased the strategic value of any naval activity in the Black Sea.11.94. 124th Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment - disbanded 1993, 943rd Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment - disbanded 1996. The military importance of the fleet has degraded since the collapse of the Soviet Union, due to significant funding cuts and, to a degree, the loss of its major missions. In 1992, the part of the personnel, armaments
4.
Ukraine
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Ukraine is currently in territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014 but which Ukraine and most of the international community recognise as Ukrainian. Including Crimea, Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km2, making it the largest country entirely within Europe and it has a population of about 42.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world. The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC, during the Middle Ages, the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture, with the powerful state of Kievan Rus forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation in the 13th century, the territory was contested, ruled and divided by a variety of powers, including Lithuania, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. A Cossack republic emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries, two brief periods of independence occurred during the 20th century, once near the end of World War I and another during World War II. Before its independence, Ukraine was typically referred to in English as The Ukraine, following independence, Ukraine declared itself a neutral state. Nonetheless it formed a limited partnership with the Russian Federation and other CIS countries. In the 2000s, the government began leaning towards NATO, and it was later agreed that the question of joining NATO should be answered by a national referendum at some point in the future. Former President Viktor Yanukovych considered the current level of co-operation between Ukraine and NATO sufficient, and was against Ukraine joining NATO and these events formed the background for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, and the War in Donbass in April 2014. On 1 January 2016, Ukraine applied the economic part of the Deep, Ukraine has long been a global breadbasket because of its extensive, fertile farmlands and is one of the worlds largest grain exporters. The diversified economy of Ukraine includes a heavy industry sector, particularly in aerospace. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate powers, legislative, executive. Its capital and largest city is Kiev, taking into account reserves and paramilitary personnel, Ukraine maintains the second-largest military in Europe after that of Russia. Ukrainian is the language and its alphabet is Cyrillic. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodoxy, which has strongly influenced Ukrainian architecture, literature, there are different hypotheses as to the etymology of the name Ukraine. According to the older and most widespread hypothesis, it means borderland, while more recently some studies claim a different meaning, homeland or region. The Ukraine now implies disregard for the sovereignty, according to U. S. ambassador William Taylor. Neanderthal settlement in Ukraine is seen in the Molodova archaeological sites include a mammoth bone dwelling
5.
Russian cruiser Moskva
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Moskva is the lead ship of the Project 1164 Atlant class of guided missile cruisers in the Russian Navy. The ship is named for the city of Moscow. Slava was laid down in 1976 in Shipyard 445 of the 61 Kommunara Shipbuilding Plant in Mykolaiv, was launched in 1979, slava played a role in the Malta Summit between Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush. She was used by the Soviet delegation, while the US delegation had their sleeping quarters aboard USS Belknap, the ships were anchored in a roadstead off the coast of Marsaxlokk. Stormy weather and choppy seas resulted in some meetings being cancelled or rescheduled, in the end, the meetings took place aboard Maxim Gorkiy, a Soviet cruise ship anchored in the harbor at La Valletta. Slava returned to Mykolaiv in December 1990 for a refit but was not returned to service until April 2000, recommissioned as Moskva in April 2000, she replaced the Kynda-class cruiser Admiral Golovko as the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. In early April 2003, Moskva, along with Pytlivy, Smetlivy, and a landing ship departed Sevastopol for exercises in the Indian Ocean with a Pacific Fleet task group, the force was supported by the Project 1559V tanker Ivan Bubnov and the Project 712 ocean-going tug Shakhter. In August 2008, in response to the Georgian crisis, Moskva was deployed to secure the Black Sea, after Russias recognition of Abkhazias independence, the ship was stationed at the Abkhazian capital, Sukhum. In April 2010 it was reported that the cruiser would join other units in the Indian Ocean to conduct exercises. In August 2013 the cruiser visited Havana, Cuba, in late August 2013, the cruiser was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in response to the build-up of American warships along the coast of Syria. During the 2014 Crimean Crisis, Moskva was responsible for blockading the Ukrainian fleet in Donuzlav Lake, in 2016, she was replaced by sister ship Varyag in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. On July 22,2016 Guards Missile Cruiser Moskva was awarded order of Nakhimov,75 Photos Guided Missile Cruiser Moskva
6.
Ministry of Defence (Russia)
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The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation exercises administrative and operational leadership of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In this capacity, the minister exercises day-to-day administrative and operational authority over the armed forces, the General Staff, the executive body of the Ministry of Defence, implements the defence ministers operational instructions and orders. The main ministry building, built in the 1980s, is located on Arbatskaya Square, other buildings of the ministry are located throughout the city of Moscow. The current Russian minister of Defence is Sergey Shoygu, the historical tradition of military command is considerably different in Russia. The tsars were educated as officers, and they wore military uniforms. Josef Stalin in his years in power frequently wore a military uniform. Likewise, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was named Marshal of the Soviet Union, by tradition dating back to the tsars, the Minister of Defense was a uniformed officer, with military background or without. The State Duma also seats a large number of deputies who are active-duty military officers—another tradition that began in the Russian imperial era and these combinations of military and civilian authority ensure that military concerns are considered at the highest levels of the Russian government. In May 1992, President of Russia Boris Yeltsin appointed General of the Army Pavel Grachev to the post of Minister of Defence. At least partly for that reason, Yeltsin retained his defence minister despite intense criticism of Grachevs management of the First Chechen War, finally, Yeltsins victory in the first round of the 1996 Russian presidential election spurred Yeltsin to dismiss Grachev. Putin called the changes in Russias security structures coinciding with Ivanovs appointment as defence minister a step toward demilitarizing public life. Putin also stressed Ivanovs responsibility for overseeing military reform as defence minister, what Putin did not emphasise was Ivanovs long service within the KGB and FSB and his then rank of General-Lieutenant within the FSB. Such military and security agency associated men are known as siloviki, as of 2002 there were four living Marshals of the Soviet Union. Such men are automatically Advisors to the Defence Minister, the Marshals alive at that time were Viktor Kulikov, Vasily Petrov, Sergei Sokolov, a former Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union, and Dmitri Yazov. Serdyukov was a former Tax Minister with little siloviki or military associations beyond his two military service. The executive body of the Ministry of Defence is the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and it is commanded by the Chief of General Staff. U. S. expert William Odom said in 1998 that the Soviet General Staff without the MoD is conceivable, Russian General Staff officers exercise command authority in their own right. In 1996 the General Staff included fifteen main directorates and an number of operating agencies
7.
Poti
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Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis and deriving its name from the same and it is also home to a main naval base and the headquarters of the Georgian navy. Adjacent to the Poti port area is the RAKIA owned Free Industrial Zone, inaugurated in April 2008, it has registered a number of businesses, including those from Iranian businesspeople trying to evade sanctions against Iran. The name Poti is apparently linked to Phasis, but the etymology is a matter of a scholarly dispute, Phasis is first recorded in Hesiods Theogony as a name of the river, not a town. The recorded history of Poti and its environs spans over 26 centuries, after many years of uncertainty and academic debate, the site of this settlement now seems to be established, thanks to underwater archaeology under tough conditions. Apparently the lake which the well-informed Ancient Greek author Strabo reported as bounding one side of Phasis has now engulfed it, Phasis appears to have been an important center of trade and culture in Colchis throughout the Classical period. The section along the river Phasis was a component of the presumed trade route from India to the Black Sea, attested by Strabo. Between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC, the played a active role in these contacts. During the Third Mithridatic War, Phasis came under Roman control and it was where the Roman commander-in-chief Pompey, having crossed into Colchis from Iberia, met the legate Servilius, the admiral of his Euxine fleet in 65 BC. After the introduction of Christianity, Phasis was a seat of a Greek diocese, one of whose bishops, Cyrus, during the Lazic War between the Eastern Roman and Sassanid Iranian empires Phasis was attacked, unsuccessfully, by Iranian soldiers. In the 8th century, the name Poti entered Georgian written sources and it remained a place of maritime trade within the Kingdom of Georgia and was known to medieval European travelers as Fasso. In the 14th century, the Genoese established a trading factory, in 1578, Poti was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Turks, who knew the town as Faş, heavily fortified it, a combined army of the western Georgian princes recovered Poti in 1640, but the town fell under the Ottoman sway again in 1723. Another futile attempt to dispossess the Ottomans of Poti was made by Russo-Georgian forces in 1770 and 1771, the next Russo-Turkish War resulted in the capture of Poti by Russia in 1828. The town was subordinated to the Governorate of Kutais and granted the status of a town in 1858. The seaport was reconstructed between 1863 and 1905, in 1872, the town became the terminus of the Caucasian railway, whence the line led direct to Tiflis. Poti particularly grew in size and importance during the mayorship of Niko Nikoladze between 1894 and 1912, by 1900, Poti had become one of the major ports on the Black Sea, exporting most of Georgia’s manganese and coal. During the First Russian Revolution, Poti became a scene of workers strikes, during a brief period of independence in 1918–1921 Poti was Georgia’s principal window to Europe, also serving as the portal of entry for successive German and British expeditionary forces
8.
Russian Navy
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The Russian Navy is the naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. The regular Russian Navy was established by Peter the Great in October 1696, ascribed to Peter I is the oft quoted statement, A ruler that has but an army has one hand, but he who has a navy has both. The symbols of the Russian Navy, the St. Andrews ensign, neither Janes Fighting Ships nor the International Institute for Strategic Studies list any standard ship prefixes for the vessels of the Russian Navy. For official U. S. Navy photographs, they are referred to as RFS—Russian Federation Ship. However, the Russian Navy itself does not use this convention, a rearmament program approved in 2007 placed the development of the navy on an equal footing with the strategic nuclear forces for the first time in Soviet and Russian history. This program, covering the period until 2015, expected to see the replacement of 45 percent of the inventory of the Russian Navy, out of 4.9 trillion rubles allocated for military rearmament,25 percent will go into building new ships. Another setback is attributed to Russias domestic shipbuilding industry which is reported to have been in decline as to their capabilities of constructing contemporary hardware efficiently, some analysts even say that because of this Russias naval capabilities have been facing a slow but certain irreversible collapse. The origins of the Russian navy may be traced to the period between the 4th and the 6th century, the first Slavic flotillas consisted of small sailing ships and rowboats, which had been seaworthy and able to navigate in riverbeds. During the 9th through 12th centuries, there were flotillas in the Kievan Rus consisting of hundreds of vessels with one, riverine vessels in 9th century Kievan Rus guarded trade routes to Constantinople. The citizens of Novgorod are known to have conducted military campaigns in the Baltic Sea —although contemporary Scandinavian sources state that the fleet was from Karelia or Estonia, ladya was a typical boat used by the army of Novgorod. There were also smaller sailboats and rowboats, such as ushkuys for sailing in rivers, lakes and skerries, kochis, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Cossacks conducted military campaigns against the Crimean Khanate and Ottoman Empire, using sailboats and rowboats. The Don Cossacks called them strugs and these boats were capable of transporting up to 80 men. The Cossack flotillas numbered 80 to 100 boats, the centralized Russian state had been fighting for its own access to the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov since the 17th Century. By the end of century, the Russians had accumulated some valuable experience in using riverboats together with land forces. Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, the construction of the first three-masted ship to be entirely within Russia was finished in 1636. She was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein with a European design, in 1668, they built a 26-gun ship, the Oryol, a yacht, a boat with a mast and bowsprit, and a few rowboats. Unquestionably the most celebrated Russian explorer was Semyon Dezhnev, who, in 1648, rounding the Chukotsk Peninsula, Dezhnev passed through the Bering Sea and sailed into the Pacific Ocean. The regular Russian Navy was created at the initiative of Peter the Great, during the Second Azov campaign of 1696 against the Ottoman Empire, the Russians employed for the first time 2 warships,4 fireships,23 galleys and 1300 strugs, built on the Voronezh River
9.
Nanuchka-class corvette
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The Nanuchka class was the NATO reporting name for a series of corvettes or small missile ships built for the Soviet Navy and export customers between 1969 and 1981. The Soviet designation was Project 1234 Ovod Small Missile Ship and these ships were designed around the P-120 Malakhit anti ship missile. Export versions used the P-15 Termit missile, unlike smaller missile boats, both carry SA-N-4 SAMs for self-defence. The original Nanuchka I carried a twin 57mm AK-257 main gun, the latter also has a rotary 30mm AK-630 point-defence gun to bolster its protection against missile attack. Reportedly the Mirazh, a Nanuchka III corvette, sank a Georgian vessel during an attack on Russian ships off Abkhazia on 10 August 2008. Trial vessel for P-800 Oniks ASHM Algeria -3 ships delivered 1980-81 in service India -3 ships known as the Durg class, libya -4 ships delivered 1981-83, Ain Zaquit sunk by US aircraft 24 March 1986 and replaced by a new ship from the USSR. Conways all the Worlds Fighting Ships 1947-1995, also published as Gardiner, Robert, Chumbley, Stephen, Budzbon, Przemysław. Conways all the Worlds Fighting Ships 1947-1995, malye protivolodochnye i malye raketnye korabli VMF SSSR i Rossii. Project 1234 Nanuchka class Guided Missile Corvette, page includes photos Guided Missile Corvette Mirazh. Page includes photos All Nanuchka Class Corvettes - Complete Ship List
10.
Grisha-class corvette
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The Albatros class was a series of anti-submarine corvettes built by the Soviet Union between 1970 and 1990. These ships had a range and were used only in coastal waters. They were equipped with a variety of ASW weapons and an SA-N-4 surface-to-air missile launcher, all were fitted with retractable fin stabilizers. Russian type designation was Malyy Protivolodochnyy Korabl,17 ships were built in the 1970s. Two were transferred to the Ukrainian Navy and around seven are in service with the Russian Maritime Border Guard, the Grisha III class were built in the late 1970s to early 1980s. These ships incorporated several small scale modifications, including a 30 mm gun, about 20 remain in Russian service. Two ships were in service with the Lithuanian Navy until 2009, a single Grisha IV class ship was built. This ship was a ship for the SA-N-9 missile system and has been decommissioned. The Grisha V class ships were built between 1985 and 1994 and this incorporated further modifications with the twin 57 mm guns being replaced by a single 76 mm gun. About 28 ships remain in the Russian Navy, ternopil entered service in 2006 with the Ukrainian Navy. List of ships of the Soviet Navy List of ships of Russia by project number Gardiner, conways all the Worlds Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Also published as Gardiner, Robert, Chumbley, Stephen, Budzbon, conways all the Worlds Fighting Ships 1947-1995. All Grisha Class Corvettes - Complete Ship List
11.
Kashin-class destroyer
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The Kashin-class destroyers were a group of guided missile destroyers built for the Soviet Navy in the 1960s and early 1970s. Their Soviet designation was Project 61, as of 2016, one ship is in service with the Russian Navy, and five modified ships are in service with the Indian Navy as Rajput-class destroyers. They were the first Soviet purpose-built anti-air warfare ships and the first to carry an ASW helicopter, the design specification was approved in 1957, the first ship was laid down in 1959 and commissioned in 1962. Much new equipment was developed for ships, including surface-to-air missiles, radars. The gas turbines were arranged in two spaces and could be removed via the funnels for servicing. These were also the first Soviet ships designed to be closed down for nuclear fallout and had a room deep inside the ship rather than a large bridge. The two RBU-1000 ASW rocket launchers were mounted aft, but later removed, smetlivy was modernised at Sevastopol in the early 1990s and fitted with new Kh-35 anti-ship missiles and MNK-300 sonar. She is the only Kashin-class vessel currently active in the Russian Navy, the Rajput-class modification built for Indian Navy has the after gun turret replaced by a hangar for a helicopter, as well as SS-N-2C anti-ship missiles on the sides of the bridge. In all, twenty ships were built for the Soviet Navy, one ship was transferred to Poland. ORP Warszawa – – ex-Smely commissioned 9 January 1988, decommissioned 5 December 2003 to the reserve, conways All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1947–1995
12.
Dmitry Medvedev
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Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is a Russian politician who is the current Prime Minister. From 2008 to 2012, Medvedev served as the third President of Russia, born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Leningrad State University Law Department in 1987. Medvedev defended his dissertation in 1990, and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed the Saint Petersburg State University, Medvedevs political career began as the Election Campaign Manager, and later as an adviser of the St. Petersburg Mayor, Anatoly Sobchak. During this time, Medvedev befriended Vladimir Putin, in November 1999, Medvedev was hired by the Russian Presidential Administration, where he worked as the Deputy Chief of Staff. In the 2000 Russian Presidential Elections, Medvedev was Putins Campaign Manager, on 14 November 2005, Medvedev was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister, and was tasked with overseeing National Priority Projects. Medvedev worked as the Chairman of Gazproms Board of Directors, a post that he held until 2008, Medvedevs candidacy was backed by the popular outgoing President, Vladimir Putin, thus giving a significant boost to his popularity. The 2008 Presidential election, held on 2 March 2008, was won by Medvedev with 70. 28% of the popular vote, and he was inaugurated on 7 May 2008. Medvedev did not run for a term as President, and therefore was appointed Prime Minister by President Vladimir Putin. On 26 May 2012, Medvedev was appointed to be the Leader of United Russia Party, during Medvedevs tenure, Russia emerged victorious in the Russo-Georgian War, and recovered from the Great Recession. Medvedev launched a campaign, and initiated a substantial law enforcement reform. Dmitry Medvedev was born on 14 September 1965 in Leningrad, in the Soviet Union and his father, Anatoly Afanasyevich Medvedev, was a chemical engineer teaching at the Leningrad State Institute of Technology. Dmitrys mother, Yulia Veniaminovna Medvedeva, studied languages at Voronezh University, later, she would also work as a tour guide at Pavlovsk Palace. The Medvedevs lived in a 40 m² apartment at 6 Bela Kun Street in the Kupchino Municipal Okrug of Leningrad, Dmitry was his parents only child. The Medvedevs were regarded as Soviet intelligentsia family of the time and his maternal grandparents were Ukrainians, whose surname was Kovalev, originally Koval. Medvedev traces his roots to the Belgorod region. As a child, Medvedev was bookish and studious, described by his first grade teacher Vera Smirnova as a dreadful why-asker, after school, he would spend some time playing with his friends before hurrying home to work on his assignments. In the third grade, Medvedev studied the ten-volume Small Soviet Encyclopedia belonging to his father, in the second and third grades, he showed interest in dinosaurs and memorized primary Earths geologic development periods, from the Archean up to the Cenozoic. In the fourth and fifth grades, he demonstrated interest in chemistry, conducting elementary experiments, in grade seven, adolescent curiosity blossomed through Svetlana Linnik, his future wife, studying at the same school in a parallel class
