The Japan Times - Vladimir Medinsky: Russia's history hawk leading talks with Kyiv

With tens of thousands killed and Russia occupying a fifth of Ukraine's territory, President Vladimir Putin has once again charged him with leading peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had pressed Putin -- who proposed the Russia-Ukraine talks -- to attend in person.

But despite international pressure, including from some of Moscow's allies, the Kremlin announced hours before the talks it was sending Medinsky.

The move was seen as a snub to Kyiv and raised questions about how seriously Moscow is taking the talks.

The 54-year-old Medinsky has risen through the ranks to become one of the main ideologues and trusted confidants of Putin, who has been in power for 25 years.

He is known for his nationalistic writings on Russian history, which often deny Ukraine's existence as a nation and advance sweeping claims over its territory.

Independent historians have for years denounced his work as a manipulation of facts.

His hawkish approach has made him one of Putin's favourite officials.

Both share a passion for patriotic education and an ultra-conservative vision of Russia's history.

Despite his closeness to the Russian leader, Medinsky is not typically seen as a decision maker on foreign policy.

He has served as a presidential aide since 2020, after serving as culture minister.

He was appointed to that portfolio in 2012 -- the year Putin returned to the Kremlin after a stint as prime minister, defying massive street demonstrations.

Since the start of the three-year invasion of Ukraine, Medinsky has taken a key role shaping Russia's propaganda on the conflict, including advancing the Kremlin's version of the military campaign in schools.

He is the author of new school textbooks on the invasion, telling Russian children that Moscow "saved peace" by annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and calling Ukraine an "ultra-nationalistic state".

On the war, he said Moscow was "gathering Russian lands" and that "Russia is a country of heroes".

And he has repeatedly rejected any historical basis for a Ukrainian state, claiming the "Ukrainian idea" was invented by the Austrian empire.

- Failed talks -

Medinsky was born in a small town in then Soviet Ukraine in 1970 but moved to Moscow as a teenager.

In March 2022, Putin tapped him to lead talks with Ukrainian officials in Belarus and Istanbul.

The negotiations broke down and fighting has raged ever since.

Moscow has since accused the West of pressuring Kyiv to abort the negotiations and alleged Ukraine was close to agreeing a deal.

Medinsky said in 2024 that the West had pushed Kyiv to drop talks and instead "try to defeat Russia on the battlefield".

Like many Russian officials, Medinsky has praised US President Donald Trump for his administration's role in pushing for an end to the conflict.

Trump's efforts will "definitely appear on the pages of Russia's history textbook", he said last month.

His divisive views have not been without their critics even inside Russia.

Some Russian historians before the invasion accused him of distorting facts and making blatant mistakes.

T.Ikeda--JT