Presidential responsibility

Medvedev admitted that being president of Russia is a life-changing experience. While he was not unfamiliar with taking responsibility in previous occupations, the presidential position is a special one.

“It changes your attitude to the world. Hopefully I didn’t change that much as a person,” he said.

He also said that his family, both his wife and his son, understand how busy he is with the job and how many restrictions are placed on him. “I’m not free, just like any other head of state. You can feel it from the very first minute of assuming this position,” he said.

Reading whenever possible

Dmitry Medvedev is an avid reader and, as many Russians, likes to read several books at once, he says. Reading one whole book non-stop is a luxury he can afford only on vacations. Every day the head of state finds fifteen to twenty minutes for reading.

He is currently leafing through Vassily Klyuchevsky’s “Historical Portraits”; a new book by Russian modern writer Viktor Pelevin; and novels by Erich Maria Remark translated into Russian. The president confessed his love for the works of the German writer whom he finds both romantic and sentimental, calling him his favorite foreign author since early teens.

He also admitted that it is the first time he has read an e-book, taking his time to thoughtfully digest the historical notes. “Earlier I thought [the e-book] was not that enjoyable, but now it is okay, I got used to it”, Medvedev said.

Family, music and holidays

Dmitry Medvedev is known as a hard rock fan and has visited concerts of Deep Purple in Moscow. He was asked whether his son loves the same kind of music. “It would be strange if my son listens to the same things I do – after all, it’s 40 years old. He, now 14, is just like other young people, and is a fan of so-called alternative rock, I don’t understand much about it,” Dmitry Medvedev said. But he knows some bands and occasionally listens to them, such as Linkin Park.

Regarding the upcoming New Year’s Eve, celebrated in Russia in as many ways as Christmas is marked in the West, the president plans to spend at home with his family. And on the first of January he plans on visiting his friends.