Surkov's role in shaping Putin's image in The Kremlin Wizard

In January 2026, one of the most anticipated political dramas will be released — «The Kremlin Wizard» (or «The Wizard from the Kremlin» from French Le Mage du Kremlin. — Ed. note.) by French director Olivier Assayas.

Although everyone talks about the film as «the movie where Jude Law plays Vladimir Putin,» the central figure of the film is not the Russian president at all.

The main character in this French film is named Vadim Baranov, and he is played by American actor Paul Dano. It is no secret that behind this image stands a real person — Vladislav Surkov. His identity has long been one of the most intriguing backstage secrets of Russian politics.

Who is Vladislav Surkov — the prototype of Vadim Baranov

Surkov«s career began far from the Kremlin offices. In his youth, he worked as a turner and as the head of an amateur theater. His path into big politics started in the 1990s through advertising and PR. He headed the advertising department in structures of Mikhail Khodorkovsky*, worked at Mikhail Fridman»s Alfa-Bank, and then at Public Russian Television, where he oversaw public relations. It was on television that he was noticed and in 1999 was invited to the administration of President Boris Yeltsin.

With his arrival in the Kremlin, the main stage of his biography began. Surkov became the architect of the Russian party system. He was one of the creators and chief ideologist of the United Russia party, and stood at the origins of the pro-presidential youth movements «Walking Together» and «Nashi».

For many years, he held key positions in the presidential administration and government, overseeing domestic policy, and later — relations with Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. For this activity, in 2014, personal sanctions were imposed against him by the United States.

Who the film «The Kremlin Wizard» is about

The film «The Wizard from the Kremlin» offers its own version of Vladislav Surkov«s personality. The main character, Baranov, appears as a former artist and television producer who, using methods drawn from the world of show business, creates the public image of the future leader and turns politics into a grand reality show.

At the same time, the filmmakers allowed themselves artistic liberties in interpreting the real politician. In the screen version, political technologist Baranov is a descendant of the intelligentsia, and controversial moments, according to some biographers, have disappeared from his biography.

It is known that Surkov was born in 1964 in the village of Solntsevo, Lipetsk Oblast. However, there are disputes about the first years of the politician«s life. According to some sources, he spent his childhood in Chechnya. Later, his mother moved him to the city of Skopin, Ryazan Oblast, where he graduated from school. This moment is not reflected in the film.

Where Vladislav Surkov is now

In 2020, Vladimir Putin dismissed Surkov from his position as his assistant. Later, in an interview, Vladislav Surkov called his departure from the position «going AWOL».

Little is known about Surkov«s current whereabouts. In 2022, former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev* reported, citing his sources, that Surkov was allegedly under house arrest. Dmitry Peskov commented on this as follows: »We do not have such information.« In the end, the words about house arrest were never confirmed.

Currently, Vladislav Surkov continues to give comments on current political events. They are published in the magazine «Russian Pioneer,» where at various times columns by Vladimir Putin, Sergey Lavrov, Mikhail Fridman, Mikhail Prokhorov, and other well-known personalities have been featured. Since 2012, the magazine has been owned by an unnamed entrepreneur.

Surkov also knows about the film with «himself» in the main role.

«No one is immune to such things,» Surkov told the magazine «Russian Pioneer.»

How critics reacted to the film «The Kremlin Wizard»

The film was presented in September 2025 at the Venice Film Festival. For Western audiences, this film became an attempt to understand the complex Russian politics of recent decades.

As the American web magazine Deadline writes, at the festival the film gathered «almost 12-minute ovations from the audience.» But there are other opinions: the British online publication Independent criticizes the film for the lack of emotional moments and the detachment of the main character, whose motivation is «impossible to understand.» On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film«s rating is currently exactly 50% based on 38 reviews.

* Recognized in the Russian Federation as individuals — foreign agents in 2022.