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Last year, actor Jude Law remarked he had no concerns about backlash for playing Vladimir Putin in a new film. This production, however, may align too neatly with the mythologized image circulated by Russian state media that, domestically, it reads as a compliment rather than a challenge.

The Crafted Superhero

For years, the Russian political apparatus and the country's pop-culture machine have worked together to craft a tailor-made version of Putin. This character is an infallible strategist devoid of flaws, a former spy reframed as a local 007 who consistently understands more than he reveals.

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

Screen-Based Support

One recent example is a TV series launched last fall, helmed by a pro-government filmmaker. The protagonist is a invented security officer selected by fate to “save” the nation from chaos. While he is called a different name, the implication is clear: the savior must be a familiar security officer.

International depictions often end up reinforcing this same narrative instead of debunking it. A new film inspired by a popular book aims to subvert the leader's mythology by framing him not as a cause but as a consequence, moving the focus to the spin doctors surrounding him.

The Fable of the Hesitant President

On screen, Putin is presented as having been chosen by powerful oligarchs to stabilise the country because he is “a fit former intelligence agent”. They visit him and practically plead him to become president. His response is that he would prefer to rule from the background, seeking permanent power.

This tale is the Kremlin’s export myth: the detached, unwilling mastermind guided by fate. Historically, none of this ever happened.

The Reality of the Casting Call

Nobody ever begged Putin to take the job. The presidency was effectively a selection process with many candidates. Central to the selection stood a powerful businessman from the previous administration who expected to run the country in practice.

• His list featured various figures, including an opposition leader subsequently assassinated and a former spy chief.
• According to a journalist who studied his rise, the future president simply fitted the necessary criteria: obedient, from the intelligence world, and not a communist or a liberal.
• A property developer familiar with the events stated the primary requirement was controllability and loyalty, not leadership.

“The goal wasn't a powerful leader, they needed someone malleable, someone who would follow instructions.”

Building the 007 Persona

Experts agree that the image of him as a powerful KGB spy was built after the fact. Stories about his clandestine activities in Dresden do not stand up to scrutiny. Fundamentally, he was an administrator and routine duties, a low-level clerk not involved with field operations.

Interestingly, the move to framing him as a “spy” could partly have been triggered by the actor's debut as 007. The grittier interpretation led local outlets and online audiences to draw visual parallels with Putin. Edited images replacing the actor's likeness with Putin’s appeared on city centers, feeding the increasing trend to see him as a local secret agent.

A Propaganda Win?

Given the casting, an star well-liked by Russian audiences, the Kremlin will not miss the opportunity to frame his casting as a small victory. Its exclusion of public dissent, the opposition, or prominent activists from its narrative, despite covering the past decade, is a pleasant bonus for state propaganda.

In Russian cinema, the president is frequently an all-powerful presence who never appears directly. He is signaled through portraits or orders from on high. Now, he finally acquires a recognizable face—one that may inadvertently validate the very myths it might seek to examine.