Dmitri Medvedev, 42, officially becomes president of Russia on May 7. He will succeed Vladimir Putin, who has led the country for eight years. But Mr. Putin will not leave the political scene - Mr. Medvedev has promised to name him prime minister.
42岁的梅德韦杰夫将在5月7日接替领导俄罗斯8年的普京正式成为俄罗斯总统。但是，普京将不会离开政治舞台。梅德韦杰夫已答应任命普京为总理。
Analysts say little is known about Mr. Medvedev, other than what is contained in his official biography. What is known is that he owes his political career to Mr. Putin. They met 17 years ago when both worked for the mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak.
分析家认为，除了梅德韦杰夫的官方传记之外，人们对他几乎不了解；人们所了解的是，他的政治生涯完全是依靠普京的提拔。两人17年前在他们为圣彼得堡市长索布恰克工作时就开始结识。
By 1999, Mr. Putin was named prime minister, then acting president, after Boris Yeltsin resigned. He was elected president of Russia in 2000, and he invited Mr. Medvedev to work for him in Moscow. Mr. Medvedev rose to chief of staff and was also made chairman of the state gas monopoly, Gazprom. He currently holds the post of first deputy prime minister.
到1999年，普京被任命为总理，后来叶利钦辞职后又被任命为代理总统。2000年，普京被选为俄罗斯总统后邀请梅德韦杰夫到莫斯科为他工作。梅德韦杰夫升任总统办公厅主任，并且被任命为国有天然气垄断企业--俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司的主席。梅德韦杰夫现任第一副总理职务。
Late last year, Mr. Putin chose Mr. Medvedev as his successor, and he easily won the presidential election on March 2, getting more than 70 percent of the vote. Candidate Medvedev promised to name Vladimir Putin prime minister.
去年年底，普京挑选梅德韦杰夫为他的接班人。梅德韦杰夫在3月2号轻松赢得总统选举，得到超过70%的选票。候选人梅德韦杰夫承诺将任命普京为总理。
During a news conference February 28, President Bush responded to a statement that U.S. Senators Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton - running for the democratic presidential nomination - said they did not know a great deal about Mr. Medvedev.
在2月28号的一个记者会上，美国总统布什回应了竞选民主党总统候选人提名的参议员奥巴马和克林顿的声明。在那个声明里，奥巴马和克林顿说，他们对梅德韦杰夫了解不多。
"I do not know much about Medvedev either. And what will be interesting to see is who represents Russia at the G8, for example. It will be interesting to see - it will help, I think, give some insight as to how Russia intends to conduct foreign policy after Vladimir Putin's presidency," said Mr. Bush.
布什说：“我对梅德韦杰夫也了解不多。有趣的是，比方说，谁代表俄罗斯参加八国峰会。我想，这将有助人们多少了解在普京卸任俄罗斯总统后俄罗斯将打算怎样执行对外政策。”
But analysts say the Russian constitution is clear as to who will be in charge of foreign relations. It says the Russian president will govern the foreign policy of the country and represent Russia on the world stage.
