Medvedev was the Head of the Presidential Administration during the 2nd term of Vladimir Putin as president, and the Chairman of Gazprom oil company.

In foreign policy, Medvedev assumed a more conciliatory tone than his predecessor, pursuing a closer relationship with the United States in general and with President Barack Obama in particular; The New START nuclear arms reduction treaty is regarded as Medvedev's main achievement in foreign affairs.

Other important decisions made by Medvedev include lowering the Duma election threshold from 7% to 5%, firing Moscow's powerful but criticised mayor Yuri Luzhkov, launching a large-scale privatisation of state-owned companies, removing state officials from the boards of state-owned companies and the extension of the Presidential term from four years to six.

[1] After taking the oath of office and receiving a gold chain of double-headed eagles symbolizing the presidency, he stated: "I believe my most important aims will be to protect civil and economic freedoms....We must fight for a true respect of the law and overcome legal nihilism, which seriously hampers modern development.

"[2] As his inauguration coincided with the celebration of the Victory Day on 9 May, he attended the military parade at Red Square and signed a decree to provide housing to war veterans.

[6] According to a poll conducted in September 2009 by the Levada Center in which 1,600 Russians from across Russia took part, 13% believed Medvedev held the most power, 32% Putin, and 48% both (7% failed to answer).

"[8] Officially, the Kremlin insisted that the power of the Head of State still rested with the President Medvedev, not the Prime Minister Putin.

As both Putin and Medvedev could run for president in the 2012 general elections, there was a view from some analysts that some of Medvedev's recent actions and comments were designed to separate his image from Putin's: examples noted by the BBC included his dealings in late 2010 with NATO and America, possibly designed to show himself as being better able to deal with the Western nations,[9] and comments in November about the need for a stronger opposition in Russian politics, to present himself as a moderniser.

The BBC also noted that other analysts believe the split is exaggerated, and Medvedev and Putin were "trying to maximise support for the authorities by appealing to different parts of society".

that the court verdict on oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partner Platon Lebedev, both of whom funded opposition parties before their arrests, would indicate whether or not Putin "is still calling all the shots".

[16] According to Professor Richard Sakwa, "Russia now at last had serious, if flawed, legislation against corruption, which in the context was quite an achievement, although preliminary results were meagre.

"[13] Russia's score in Corruption Perceptions Index rose from 2.1 in 2008 to 2.2 in 2009, which "could be interpreted as a mildly positive response to the newly-adopted package of anti-corruption legislation initiated and promoted by president Medvedev and passed by the Duma in December of 2008", according to Transparency International's CPI 2009 Regional Highlights report.

[17] On 10 March 2009, Medvedev signed the presidential decree to reform the civil service system between 2009 and 2013 as part of his drive against corruption.

[19][20] According to Georgy Satarov, president of the Indem think tank, the decree "probably reflected Medvedev's frustration with the fact that the 2008 plan had yielded little result.

On 7 August 2009, Dmitry Medvedev instructed Prosecutor General Yury Chayka and Chief of the Audit Directorate of the Presidential Administration of Russia Konstantin Chuychenko to probe state corporations, a new highly privileged form of organizations earlier promoted by President Putin, to question their appropriateness.

[34] In August 2009, Medvedev promised to break the near-monopoly of ruling party United Russia over the political system, stating that "New democratic times are beginning".

The bill, passed on 22 October, notably prohibited anyone who had previously been convicted of organizing an illegal mass rally from seeking permission to stage a demonstration.

[45] In May 2009, Medvedev set up the Presidential Commission of the Russian Federation to Counter Attempts to Falsify History to the Detriment of Russia's Interests.

Tensions between Georgia and Russian-supported separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia had been rising throughout the year 2008, with both sides accusing each other of preparing for a war.

The Georgian side said that the actions of Russian peacekeepers and Ossetians were provocative and they intended to make Georgia feel forced to start the military operation.

On 26 August, following a unanimous vote of the Federal Assembly of Russia, Medvedev issued a presidential decree officially recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states,[48] an action condemned by the G8.

[49] On 31 August 2008, Medvedev announced a shift in the Russian foreign policy under his government, built around five main principles, collectively known as the Medvedev Doctrine:[50] In his address to the parliament on 5 November 2008 he also promised to deploy the Iskander missile system and radar-jamming facilities in Kaliningrad Oblast to counter the U. S. missile defence system in Eastern Europe.

[61] Putin won the election on 4 March 2012, and was inaugurated on 7 May, as Medvedev's presidency ended and he was appointed prime minister.