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In a recent appearance, actor Jude Law remarked he “didn’t fear any repercussions” for playing Vladimir Putin in a new film. This production, however, may align too neatly with the carefully constructed image circulated by Russian state media that, within Russia, it functions as a compliment rather than a critique.

The Manufactured Strongman

For years, the Russian political apparatus and its entertainment industry have worked together to craft a tailor-made persona of Putin. This figure is an infallible strategist without age or mistakes, an ex-intelligence officer reframed as a Russian James Bond who always knows more than he reveals.

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

Cinematic Reinforcement

One recent example is a TV series launched last October, directed by a Kremlin supporter. Its main character is a fictional blue-eyed lieutenant colonel inexplicably chosen to “save” the nation from disorder. Although he is called a different name, the implication is clear: the hero must be a familiar security officer.

Western portrayals often end up reinforcing this same narrative instead of undercutting it. A new film based on a bestselling satirical novel sets out to undermine the leader's mythology by framing him not as a cause but as a consequence, shifting the focus to the political machinery around him.

The Myth of the Reluctant Leader

In the film, Putin is shown as having been chosen by powerful oligarchs to stabilise the country because he is “young, athletic and a spy”. They visit him and practically plead him to take the top job. His response is that he would rather govern from the background, seeking enduring influence.

This tale 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 Putin to take the job. The position was effectively a selection process with many candidates. Central to this process stood an influential oligarch from the previous administration who planned to control the state de facto.

• His list included several politicians, including an opposition leader later murdered and a security service director.
• Per an expert who studied his rise, the future president merely met the required parameters: loyal, from the security services, and politically neutral.
• A property developer familiar with the process stated the key criterion was manageability 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 image of Putin as a powerful KGB spy 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.

Interestingly, the move to depicting him as a “spy” could partly have been inspired by Daniel Craig’s arrival as 007. The grittier version led local outlets and social media to make comparisons with Putin. Mashup posters swapping Craig’s face with his surfaced on Moscow streets, fueling the growing tendency to see him as a Russian 007.

A Diplomatic Opportunity?

Given the casting, an star popular with viewers there, the authorities are likely to seize the opportunity to portray this choice as a minor diplomatic triumph. The film's exclusion of mass protests, the opposition, or key figures in the story, even though it includes the past decade, is a pleasant bonus for state propaganda.

In Russian cinema, the president is often an all-powerful presence who remains unseen directly. He is signaled through portraits 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.