Rhetoric without brakes: Medvedev allowed the “kidnapping” of Friedrich Merz

Dmitry Medvedevcommenting on the events surrounding the kidnapping of the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro United States, made a resonant statement in which he admitted the possibility kidnapping of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

According to the agency TASStwo days after the arrest of the Venezuelan leader, Medvedev said that “The kidnapping of the same neo-Nazi Mertz could be an excellent plot twist in this carnival series. There is little that can surprise you. There is some realism in such a scenario. There is precisely something to persecute him for even in Germany. Therefore, it will not be a pity. Moreover, the burghers are suffering for nothing,” he said, answering questions from TASS.

Russia’s Medvedev:

The kidnapping of the neo-Nazi Merz could be an excellent twist in this carnival of events.

This is not entirely unrealistic. pic.twitter.com/xcoR3TaIhM

— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 4, 2026

Russlands Ex-Präsident Dimitri Medwedew hält eine Entführung von Friedrich Merz nach US-amerikanischem Vorbild für denkbar. Er droht so auch dem Präsidenten der Ukraine. https://t.co/rH2TEGKOwk

— DIE ZEIT (@zeitonline) January 4, 2026

Medvedev’s rhetoric was not limited to Germany. Similar threats, according to available data, were addressed to the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelenskywhom he called an illegitimate head of state due to the lack of elections.

Such statements fit into the general line of harsh and provocative public rhetoric accompanying the deterioration of international relations after US actions regarding Venezuela and increasing conflict around Ukraine.

Editorial comment

After death Vladimir Zhirinovsky A vacuum was created in Russian politics, which many initially underestimated. It was not about ideology, not about the electoral niche, and not even about party mechanics, but about rhetorical functionwhich Zhirinovsky carried out for decades.

Zhirinovsky was a figure who was allowed to pronounce absurd, hyperbolic and obviously scandalous. His statements were rarely taken literally, but almost always worked as a probe of public reaction, as a lightning rod and as a tool for normalizing radical rhetoric. With his departure, this function did not disappear anywhere – the system simply cannot exist without such a valve.

In fact, this niche was occupied by Dmitry Medvedev. Not because of personal eccentricity or because of a sudden transformation of character, but because he turned out to be perfect figure. The former president and prime minister, who formally remains in the highest echelon of power, but does not bear direct responsibility for making key decisions.

His statements are different increased scandalousness, demonstrative cynicism and harsh language. However, something else is fundamentally important: almost all of these statements have no direct political consequences. They are not formalized into decisions, are not institutionalized and do not require implementation. This is rhetoric, not politics.

This is their function. Medvedev says something that the official government prefers not to formulate directly, but does not refute. His words can be written off at any time as “personal opinion”, “emotions” or “excess”, without paying a real price for them. However, they are always read as outgoing from within the systemand not from the marginal flank.

The difference with Zhirinovsky, however, is fundamental. Zhirinovsky was a political trickster (clown). Medvedev is example of status degradation: The man who once served as the moderate and “civilized” face of power now functions as a bearer of harsh, almost cartoonish rhetoric. In this sense, it is even more indicative than its predecessor.

Thus, we are not talking about the individual, but about the mechanism. The system still needs a character who can say out loud what cannot be formalized. And as long as this role is limited to words and not decisions, it remains safe – both for the authorities and for the system itself.

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