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Last year, star Jude Law stated he “didn’t fear any repercussions” for portraying Vladimir Putin in a new film. This production, however, could coincide too neatly with the mythologized version circulated by Russian state media that, domestically, it reads as a endorsement rather than a critique.

The Crafted Strongman

For years, the Kremlin and its entertainment industry have worked together to craft a made-to-measure version of the president. This character is an infallible strategist devoid of flaws, a former spy reframed as a local 007 who consistently understands beyond what he shows.

“Domestically, the manufactured Putin has long overshadowed the real one.”

Screen-Based Support

One recent example is a television show released last October, helmed by a Kremlin supporter. Its main character is a fictional blue-eyed lieutenant colonel selected by fate to “save” the nation from disorder. Although he is called a different name, the implication is unmistakable: the savior must be a known figure from the secret services.

Western portrayals often end up reinforcing this same narrative rather than debunking it. A new film based on a bestselling satirical novel aims to subvert the Putin cult by framing him not as a cause but as a symptom, shifting the focus to the spin doctors around him.

The Fable of the Hesitant President

In the film, the president is presented as having been picked by influential figures to stabilise the country because he is “a fit former intelligence agent”. They visit him and practically plead him to take the top job. His response is that he would rather govern from the shadows, desiring permanent power.

This narrative is a key piece of state propaganda: the detached, unwilling mastermind shaped by destiny. In reality, none of this took place.

The Truth Behind the Selection

No one ever begged Putin to take the job. The presidency was in essence a selection process with no shortage of contenders. Central to the selection stood a powerful businessman from the previous administration who planned to control the state in practice.

• The shortlist included several politicians, among them a reformer later murdered and a former spy chief.
• According to an expert who studied his rise, the future president simply fitted the necessary criteria: loyal, from the intelligence world, and politically neutral.
• A property developer familiar with the process said the key criterion was controllability and faithfulness, not leadership.

“They didn’t need a powerful leader, they needed someone malleable, someone who would follow instructions.”

Constructing the Spy Legend

Experts agree that the notion of Putin as a master operative was constructed retrospectively. Claims about his “recruitment work” in East Germany fall apart under examination. In essence, he was an administrator and technical tasks, a low-level clerk not involved with field operations.

Curiously, the shift to depicting him as a “007” could partly have been inspired by Daniel Craig’s arrival as 007. The grittier interpretation prompted Russian media and social media to draw visual parallels with Putin. Edited images replacing Craig’s face with Putin’s appeared on city centers, fueling the growing tendency to see him as a local secret agent.

A Diplomatic Opportunity?

Given the casting, an star well-liked by viewers there, the authorities are likely to seize the chance to portray this choice as a minor diplomatic triumph. The film's omission of mass protests, the opposition, or prominent activists in the story, despite covering recent years, is a welcome aspect for official messaging.

Domestically, Putin is often an all-powerful presence who never appears directly. His influence is hinted at through photographs or orders from on high. In this new film, he at last gets a recognizable face—one that could unintentionally echo the very myths it might seek to examine.