🔗 Share this article

In a recent appearance, actor Jude Law remarked he “didn’t fear any repercussions” for playing Vladimir Putin in a new film. This production, however, may align so closely with the carefully constructed image circulated by Russian state media that, domestically, it functions as a endorsement instead of a critique.

The Manufactured Strongman

For years, the Russian political apparatus and its entertainment industry have collaborated to forge a made-to-measure persona of the president. This figure is an infallible strategist without age or mistakes, a former spy reframed as a local 007 who consistently understands beyond what he shows.

“In Russia, the constructed Putin has long eclipsed the actual person.”

Cinematic Reinforcement

A notable instance is a TV series released last October, directed by a Kremlin supporter. The protagonist is a fictional security officer selected by fate to “save” Russia from chaos. Although he is called a different name, the implication is clear: the savior must be a familiar security officer.

Western portrayals often end up reinforcing this identical story instead of undercutting it. A new film based on a popular book aims to subvert the leader's mythology by presenting him not as a cause but as a consequence, shifting the focus to the spin doctors around him.

The Fable of the Hesitant President

On screen, the president is shown as having been picked by powerful oligarchs to stabilise the country 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, desiring enduring influence.

This narrative is a key piece of state propaganda: the detached, unwilling mastermind guided by fate. Historically, these events took place.

The Reality of the Casting Call

Nobody ever begged Putin to take the job. The position was effectively a casting call with no shortage of candidates. At the centre to this process stood a powerful businessman from the previous administration who expected to run the country de facto.

• His list featured various figures, including a reformer later murdered and a former spy chief.
• Per an expert who studied Putin’s biography, the future president merely met the necessary criteria: obedient, from the security services, and politically neutral.
• A businessman familiar with the process stated the key criterion was controllability and faithfulness, not leadership.

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

Building the 007 Persona

Experts agree that the image of him as a master operative was built after the fact. Claims about his clandestine activities in Dresden do not stand up to scrutiny. Fundamentally, he handled paperwork and routine duties, a low-level clerk not engaged in actual agent work.

Interestingly, the move to framing him as a “007” may in part have been triggered by Daniel Craig’s debut as 007. The grittier interpretation prompted local outlets and social media to make comparisons with Putin. Edited images swapping the actor's likeness with Putin’s appeared on city centers, feeding the growing tendency to frame him as a Russian 007.

A Propaganda Win?

Given the casting, an actor well-liked by viewers there, the authorities are likely to seize the opportunity to portray this choice as a minor diplomatic triumph. Its omission of mass protests, the political rivals, or key figures in the story, despite covering recent years, is a pleasant bonus for official messaging.

In Russian cinema, the president is often an omnipotent figure who remains unseen directly. He is hinted at through portraits or calls “from above”. In this new film, he at last gets a recognizable face—one that may inadvertently validate the very myths it might seek to examine.