🔗 Share this article

Last year, actor Jude Law remarked he had no concerns about backlash for portraying Vladimir Putin in a cinematic adaptation. This production, though, could coincide too neatly with the mythologized version promoted by Russian state media that, within Russia, it reads as a compliment instead of a critique.

The Crafted Superhero

For years, the Kremlin and the country's pop-culture machine have collaborated to craft a made-to-measure persona of the president. This figure is an infallible strategist devoid of flaws, a former spy reimagined as a local 007 who consistently understands more than he reveals.

“Domestically, the constructed Putin has long eclipsed the real one.”

Cinematic Reinforcement

One recent example is a TV series released last fall, helmed by a pro-government filmmaker. Its main character is a invented blue-eyed lieutenant colonel inexplicably chosen to “save” Russia from chaos. While he is called a different name, the implication is clear: the hero must be a known figure from the secret services.

Western portrayals often end up buttressing this same narrative instead of debunking it. A new film based on a bestselling satirical novel sets out to undermine the leader's mythology by framing him not as a cause but as a symptom, shifting the narrative weight to the spin doctors surrounding him.

The Myth of the Reluctant Leader

On screen, the president is presented as having been chosen by influential figures to stabilise the nation because he is “young, athletic and a spy”. The oligarchs approach him and practically plead him to take the top job. He replies is that he would rather govern from the shadows, seeking permanent power.

This tale is the Kremlin’s export myth: the detached, unwilling mastermind shaped by destiny. In reality, none of this took place.

The Reality of the Casting Call

Nobody ever begged him to take the job. The position was effectively a casting call with many candidates. At the centre to this process stood a powerful businessman from the previous administration who expected to run the state de facto.

• The shortlist featured various figures, including a reformer later murdered and a security service director.
• Per a journalist who studied his rise, the chosen candidate simply fitted the required parameters: loyal, from the security services, and not a communist or a liberal.
• A businessman familiar with the events stated the primary requirement was manageability and faithfulness, not strength.

“The goal wasn't a strong candidate, they needed someone controllable, someone who would obey orders.”

Building the 007 Persona

Experts agree that the image of Putin as a powerful KGB spy was built after the fact. Claims about his “recruitment work” in East Germany do not stand up to scrutiny. Fundamentally, he handled paperwork and technical tasks, a low-level clerk not involved with actual agent work.

Curiously, the move to depicting him as a “007” may in part have been inspired by the actor's arrival as 007. The grittier version led Russian media and online audiences to draw visual parallels with their leader. Edited images swapping Craig’s face with Putin’s surfaced on city centers, fueling the growing tendency to see him as a Russian 007.

A Propaganda Win?

With Jude Law, an star popular with viewers there, the Kremlin are likely to seize the chance to portray this choice as a small victory. Its omission of mass protests, the political rivals, or prominent activists from its narrative, despite covering the past decade, is a pleasant bonus for state propaganda.

In Russian cinema, Putin is frequently an omnipotent figure who remains unseen on screen. He is signaled through portraits or calls “from above”. In this new film, he finally acquires a recognizable face—one that may inadvertently echo the very myths it might seek to question.