Medvedev was nominated by the ruling United Russia party and three other pro-Kremlin parties on Monday afternoon. President Vladimir Putin threw his substantial political weight behind the candidate, who chairs the board of energy giant Gazprom, virtually guaranteeing Medvedev the presidency.
Svetlana and Dmitry, both 42, have known each other for 35 years since going to the same elementary school in St. Petersburg, the popular daily Komsomolskaya Pravda said.
"Svetlana comes from a family of servicemen. In high school, she was the first beauty - a blonde with amazing eyes. Many boys liked her but she chose Dima [Dmitry]," said Vera Smirnova, Dmitry Medvedev's first teacher.
She said they married a few years after leaving school. Now they have a 12-year-old son, Ilya.
An influential Russian business daily, Vedomosti, said Svetlana, described by her friends as a strong-willed woman, had graduated from a financial and economic institute.
She is also reportedly a party animal. In 2005, Svetlana was seen at a housewarming party thrown by Russian pop diva Alla Pugachyova. She also attended the singer's birthday party in April.
In the same month she became the head of a sponsors' board for a program on spiritual and moral development of Russian youth under the patronage of Alexy II, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
On October 24, she attended the opening ceremony of Fashion Week in Moscow, according to the Express Gazeta tabloid.
The wife of the Russian presidential candidate has been promoting Russian fashion designers abroad and supported the Festival of Russian Art in Cannes this year. She has also led a fund-raising partnership program between Milan and St. Petersburg.
Tatiana Mikhalkov, the head of the charity foundation Russian Silhouette and the wife of Russian Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov, said Svetlana Medvedev "is a beautiful woman, full of heart, business-minded. She does a lot for the Russian fashion industry, promoting Russian designers to the international level. She has a sense for fashion and is always elegant."
