Dmitry Medvedev, the man likely to be the next Russian president, fell in love with his wife when they were both teenagers, put himself through university by working as a street sweeper and calls his mother every day.

Medvedev lifted the lid on his closely guarded personal life in a six-page interview published yesterday, less than two weeks before a presidential election he is favorite to win after outgoing President Vladimir Putin endorsed him.

The interview was paid for by Medvedev's campaign and appeared to be part of an effort to give a more human face to a public persona most Russians associate with his role as a low-key bureaucrat who has spent years in Putin's shadow.

In the interview in Russia's Itogi news magazine, Medvedev presented himself as an ordinary Russian from a modest background who never imagined he would land the Kremlin top job.

Medvedev, 42, whose current title is first deputy prime minister, said his ancestors included farm workers, a blacksmith and a hat maker. "Neither I nor my wife can claim to have blue blood," he said.

He recalled how he had grown up in a 40 square metre apartment in Kupchino, a blue-collar suburb on the outskirts of St Petersburg. His father taught at a polytechnic institute and money was tight, he said.

Medvedev, a fan of British rock group Deep Purple, dreamed of buying vinyl records and a pair of Levi's or Wrangler jeans, which at the time could only be found on the black market.

In the interview, Medvedev, the front-runner to become Russia's next president, also said that he and not outgoing president Vladimir Putin would be running the country if he is elected to the Kremlin's top job next month.

Medvedev said he was in no doubt who would be in charge.

"Our country was and remains a presidential republic. It cannot be any other way."

"Russia is a federal country with great potential and not a few problems. A state like that can only be run with the help of strong presidential power, regardless of who at any given moment occupies that office in the Kremlin," said Medvedev.

Little was known about Medvedev's personal life because he has never run for political office until now and for most of his career he kept a low public profile.

In the interview, Medvedev described how while at university he supplemented his student stipend by working on a building site and as a street cleaner. Buying his first apartment, a three-room property in a Moscow suburb, was a major event in his life. "I remember feeling unbelievable happiness, it was not comparable with anything else.

"When I moved to Moscow in 1999, I could not imagine that eight years later I would be running for the post of president."

He fell for his future wife Svetlana when they were both in the 7th grade at School No 305 in Kupchino. In Russia, 7th grade pupils are usually 14 or 15 years old.

Agencies

(China Daily 02/19/2008 page12)