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Last year, star Jude Law stated he had no concerns about backlash for portraying Vladimir Putin in a cinematic adaptation. The movie, however, may align too neatly with the carefully constructed version promoted by Russian state media that, within Russia, it functions as a compliment instead of a challenge.

The Crafted Superhero

Over a long period, the Russian political apparatus and the country's pop-culture machine have worked together to craft a made-to-measure persona of Putin. This figure is an infallible strategist without age or mistakes, an ex-intelligence officer reframed as a local 007 who always knows more than he reveals.

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

Cinematic Reinforcement

A notable instance is a television show released last October, helmed by a pro-government filmmaker. Its main character is a fictional blue-eyed lieutenant colonel selected by fate to “rescue” the nation from chaos. Although the character's name Mikhail, the message is unmistakable: the hero must be a familiar security officer.

International depictions 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 Putin cult by framing him not as a cause but as a consequence, shifting the narrative weight to the political machinery surrounding him.

The Myth of the Reluctant Leader

In the film, Putin is shown as having been chosen by influential figures to stabilise the nation because he is “young, athletic and a spy”. They visit him and practically plead him to become president. His response is that he would prefer to rule from the background, desiring permanent power.

This tale is a key piece of state propaganda: the cool, reluctant strategist shaped by destiny. In reality, these events ever happened.

The Truth Behind the Selection

Nobody actually pleaded with Putin to take the job. The position was effectively a casting call with many candidates. At the centre to the selection stood a powerful businessman from the Yeltsin era who expected to run the state de facto.

• The shortlist featured several politicians, among them an opposition leader subsequently assassinated and a security service director.
• Per a journalist who studied Putin’s biography, the future president simply fitted the necessary criteria: loyal, from the security services, and politically neutral.
• A property developer close to the process said the key criterion was controllability and loyalty, not leadership.

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

Constructing the Spy Legend

Analysts concur that the image of Putin as a powerful KGB spy was constructed retrospectively. Stories about his “recruitment work” in East Germany fall apart under examination. Fundamentally, he was an administrator and technical tasks, a low-level clerk not involved with actual agent work.

Curiously, the shift to depicting him as a “spy” could partly have been inspired by Daniel Craig’s debut as James Bond. The grittier version prompted local outlets and social media to draw visual parallels with their leader. Edited images swapping the actor's likeness with his appeared on Moscow streets, fueling the growing tendency to see him as a Russian 007.

A Diplomatic Opportunity?

With Jude Law, an star well-liked by Russian audiences, the authorities will not miss the chance to portray this choice as a minor diplomatic triumph. The film's omission of mass protests, the opposition, or prominent activists from its narrative, even though it includes the past decade, is a pleasant bonus for official messaging.

In Russian cinema, the president is often an all-powerful presence who never appears directly. He is hinted at through photographs or orders from on high. Now, he finally acquires a recognizable face—one that could unintentionally echo the very myths it might seek to question.