New Russian President has an India link

Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev apparently shares an India link unknown to many. The 42-year-old successor of Vladimir Putin has a surname which can trace its origin to Sanskrit.

Medvedev is derived from 'medved' the Russian word for bear. For pre-Christian Russians, who were the worshippers of wooden idols of 'Balvan' (almighty god), the use of the word 'ber' was a taboo and so they preferred to call the animal "Medved'.

While in Russian, 'Medved' would have translated to 'someone having the knowledge of honey', in Sanskrit, the word 'Madhu Vedi' has the same meaning.

Outstanding Indian scholar of Vedas and freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak in his book 'The Arctic Home in Vedas' has also mentioned about the common roots of the Russians and Indians.