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

The Crafted Superhero

Over a long period, the Kremlin and the country's entertainment industry have collaborated to craft a made-to-measure version of Putin. This character is an infallible strategist without age or mistakes, a former spy reframed as a Russian James Bond who consistently understands beyond what he shows.

“In Russia, the constructed Putin has long overshadowed the real one.”

Screen-Based Support

A notable instance is a television show released last fall, directed by a Kremlin supporter. The protagonist is a fictional blue-eyed lieutenant colonel selected by fate to “save” the nation from disorder. While the character's name Mikhail, the message is clear: the hero must be a known figure from the secret services.

Western portrayals frequently result in reinforcing this identical story rather than debunking it. An adaptation based on a bestselling satirical novel sets out to subvert the leader's mythology by presenting him not as a cause but as a symptom, shifting the focus to the political machinery around him.

The Fable of the Hesitant President

In the film, Putin is presented as having been chosen by powerful oligarchs to steady the nation because he is “a fit former intelligence agent”. The oligarchs approach him and practically plead him to take the top job. His response is that he would prefer to rule from the background, desiring permanent power.

This narrative is a key piece of state propaganda: the detached, unwilling mastermind shaped by destiny. In reality, these events ever happened.

The Truth Behind the Selection

Nobody ever begged Putin to take the job. The position was effectively a selection process with no shortage of contenders. At the centre to the selection stood an influential oligarch from the previous administration who planned to control the state de facto.

• The shortlist included various figures, among them a reformer subsequently assassinated and a former spy chief.
• Per a journalist who researched Putin’s biography, the chosen candidate simply fitted the necessary criteria: loyal, from the security services, and politically neutral.
• A property developer familiar with the events said the primary requirement was controllability and faithfulness, not leadership.

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

Constructing the Spy Legend

Analysts concur that the notion of Putin as a master operative was constructed retrospectively. Stories about his “recruitment work” 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.

Curiously, the move to depicting him as a “spy” could partly have been inspired by the actor's arrival as James Bond. His harder version prompted Russian media and social media to draw visual parallels with their leader. Mashup posters swapping Craig’s face with his appeared on city centers, fueling the growing tendency to frame him as a Russian 007.

A Diplomatic Opportunity?

With Jude Law, an actor popular with viewers there, the Kremlin will not miss the chance to portray this choice as a minor diplomatic triumph. The film's exclusion of mass protests, the political rivals, or prominent activists in the story, even though it includes the past decade, is a pleasant bonus for state propaganda.

Domestically, the president is frequently an omnipotent figure who remains unseen on screen. He is hinted at through portraits or calls “from above”. In this new film, he finally acquires a recognizable face—one that may inadvertently validate the exact legends it perhaps aims to question.