Putin as a Russian James Bond? Jude Law's Vladimir film seems to have swallowed Kremlin myths | Natasha Kiseleva

"The Kremlin and Russia's pop-culture machine have long collaborated to craft a made-to-measure version of Putin that is far removed from the man himself: a political superhero without age or mistakes, a perfectly calculated strategist, a former spy reframed as a Russian James Bond who always knows more than he reveals. One recent example is the TV series Chronicles of the Russian Revolution, released in October and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, a Silver Lion winner and longstanding Kremlin supporter."

"Although the character is named Mikhail rather than Vladimir, the implication is clear: in this narrative, the saviour of Russia must be the familiar security officer. In Russia, the manufactured Putin has long eclipsed the real one. And yet western portrayals often end up reinforcing the same narrative rather than undercutting it. French director Olivier Assayas's The Wizard of the Kremlin, based on Giuliano da Empoli's bestselling satirical novel and adapted for screen by Emmanuel Carrere, in some ways sets out to subvert the Putin cult."

"Last year, speaking at the Venice film festival premiere of The Wizard of the Kremlin, based on a book about the rise of Vladimir Putin, actor Jude Law said he didn't fear any repercussions over his portrayal of the Russian president. Law may be right, but not for the reason he thinks he is. The film aligns so closely with the mythologised version promoted by the Russian media that, domestically, it reads as a compliment rather than an affront."

Russian state media and pop-culture industries collaborate to construct a mythologised Putin: ageless, infallible, a calculated strategist and a former spy reframed as a national James Bond. This manufactured image often eclipses the real person domestically, turning portrayals into compliments rather than critiques. Recent examples include television and film that center a security-service saviour figure, reinforcing the idea that Russia's deliverer must be a familiar officer. Western cultural treatments sometimes replicate that narrative instead of undermining it. Some films aim to subvert the cult by portraying Putin as symptom and focusing on spin doctors and the political machinery behind him.

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