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Last year, star Jude Law stated he had no concerns about backlash for portraying 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 functions as a compliment instead of a challenge.

The Manufactured Strongman

Over a long period, the Kremlin and the country's pop-culture machine have worked together to forge a made-to-measure persona of Putin. This figure is an infallible strategist devoid of flaws, a former spy reframed as a Russian James Bond who always knows beyond what he shows.

“Domestically, the constructed Putin has long eclipsed the real one.”

Screen-Based Support

One recent example is a television show launched last fall, helmed by a Kremlin supporter. Its main character is a fictional security officer selected by fate to “rescue” Russia from disorder. Although 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 buttressing this same narrative rather than undercutting it. An adaptation based on a popular book sets out to undermine the Putin cult by framing him not as a cause but as a symptom, moving the focus to the spin doctors around him.

The Fable of the Hesitant President

On screen, the president is shown as having been chosen by powerful oligarchs to steady the nation 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 enduring influence.

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

The Reality of the Casting Call

Nobody actually pleaded with Putin to take the job. The position was effectively a selection process with many candidates. At the centre to this process stood an influential oligarch from the previous administration who expected to run the state de facto.

• His list included various figures, among them a reformer subsequently assassinated and a security service director.
• Per an expert who researched his rise, the future president simply fitted the required parameters: loyal, from the security services, and not a communist or a liberal.
• A businessman familiar with the process said the primary requirement was controllability and loyalty, not leadership.

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

Building the 007 Persona

Experts agree that the notion of Putin as a master operative was built after the fact. Stories about his clandestine activities in Dresden do not stand up to scrutiny. In essence, he handled paperwork and technical tasks, a low-level clerk not involved with actual agent work.

Curiously, the shift to framing him as a “spy” could partly have been inspired by the actor's arrival as James Bond. His harder interpretation prompted Russian media and social media to draw visual parallels with Putin. Edited images swapping the actor's likeness with Putin’s surfaced on city centers, fueling the growing tendency to see him as a Russian 007.

A Diplomatic Opportunity?

Given the casting, an actor popular with viewers there, the Kremlin will not miss the opportunity to portray this choice as a minor diplomatic triumph. Its omission of public dissent, the opposition, or prominent activists in the story, even though it includes recent years, is a welcome aspect for official messaging.

Domestically, the president is often an omnipotent figure who never appears directly. He is hinted at through portraits or orders from on high. In this new film, he finally acquires a recognizable face—one that could unintentionally validate the exact legends it perhaps aims to examine.