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Last year, star Jude Law remarked he had no concerns about backlash for playing Vladimir Putin in a new film. The movie, though, could coincide too neatly with the mythologized image promoted by Russian state media that, domestically, it reads as a endorsement rather than a challenge.

The Manufactured Superhero

Over a long period, the Russian political apparatus and its pop-culture machine have worked together to craft a tailor-made persona of Putin. This character is a political superhero devoid of flaws, a former spy reframed as a local 007 who always knows beyond what he shows.

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

Cinematic Reinforcement

A notable instance is a TV series released last October, helmed by a Kremlin supporter. Its main character is a fictional blue-eyed lieutenant colonel inexplicably chosen to “save” Russia from chaos. While the character's name Mikhail, the implication is unmistakable: the savior must be a known figure from the secret services.

Western portrayals frequently result in reinforcing this same narrative rather than debunking it. An adaptation inspired by a popular book aims to subvert the leader's mythology by presenting him not as a cause but as a symptom, shifting the focus to the spin doctors around him.

The Fable of the Hesitant President

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

This narrative is the Kremlin’s export myth: the cool, reluctant strategist guided by fate. In reality, none of this ever happened.

The Reality of the Casting Call

No one actually pleaded with him to take the job. The presidency was in essence a casting call with no shortage of candidates. Central to this process stood a powerful businessman from the previous administration who expected to run the state in practice.

• His list included various figures, among them a reformer subsequently assassinated and a security service director.
• According to an expert who studied Putin’s biography, the future president simply fitted the necessary criteria: loyal, from the security services, and not a communist or a liberal.
• A businessman close to the events stated the key criterion was manageability and loyalty, not strength.

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

Building the 007 Persona

Analysts concur that the notion of Putin as a master operative was constructed retrospectively. Stories about his clandestine activities in Dresden do not stand up to scrutiny. Fundamentally, he handled paperwork and routine duties, a mid-level functionary not involved with actual agent work.

Curiously, the move to framing him as a “007” could partly have been inspired by the actor's debut as 007. His harder interpretation prompted Russian media and social media to draw visual parallels with their leader. Edited images replacing the actor's likeness with Putin’s appeared on city centers, fueling the growing tendency to frame him as a local secret agent.

A Propaganda Win?

With Jude Law, an star popular with viewers there, the authorities will not miss the opportunity to frame his casting as a minor diplomatic triumph. The film's omission of public dissent, the opposition, or prominent activists in the story, even though it includes the past decade, is a welcome aspect for official messaging.

Domestically, the president is frequently an omnipotent figure who never appears directly. He is hinted at through photographs or orders from on high. In this new film, he at last gets a famous actor's visage—one that may inadvertently validate the very myths it might seek to question.