How Putin became master of the image

Throughout his clip arsenic Russian President, Vladimir Putin has been alert to the powerfulness of ocular imagery.

The archetypal clip I interviewed him successful 2001, an adjutant swooped successful conscionable earlier the cameras went unrecorded and snatched distant the tiny h2o glasses connected the array successful beforehand of us.

"Why did you bash that?" I asked.

"We wouldn't privation anyone to deliberation they were for vodka," came the reply. "And anyway, we can't hazard a solid spilling unrecorded connected TV. Television is simply a atomic weaponry erstwhile it comes to publicity."

"Everybody successful Russia, but particularly Putin, realised that TV was the cardinal to the consolidation of power," says the writer and governmental expert Peter Pomerantsev.

Over the years, Putin has transformed Russia from a fragile emerging ideology into a mostly authoritarian authorities revolving astir himself arsenic president. He has besides dramatically transformed himself.

Early photos amusement him arsenic a slight, reticent fig who seemed wary of the camera. So however did this seemingly quiet, retiring kid and self-effacing bureaucrat crook into a president who truthful avidly embraced the limelight?

His keen involvement successful the powerfulness of representation acold predated his emergence to power. Like astir youngsters increasing up successful the 1960s and 70s, Putin was a kid of the tv age. His relation models were the spy heroes of fashionable Soviet TV bid and movies. By his ain admission, these strong, soundless treble agents battling against enemies of the Soviet authorities were what inspired him to question a vocation successful the KGB, the Soviet Union's quality agency.

As a KGB operative and past an assiduous apparatchik, helium avoided attention. But erstwhile successful 1999 helium was catapulted into the relation of acting president and a fewer months aboriginal elected president, helium and his PR advisers showed themselves acutely alert of the value of ocular imagery successful shaping his statesmanlike persona.

Part of the image-making process was to edit retired what was unhelpful. So Putin came crossed arsenic a virtual teetotaller. At yearly meetings with overseas argumentation experts astatine the Valdai Discussion Club, helium would instrumentality to a cupful of beverage with chromatic portion they were served good wines.

On occasions erstwhile helium did person a drink, his minders tried to support it nether wraps. I erstwhile met the custodian of a section depository who told maine however helium had sat down with the president to bask immoderate Russian pancakes smeared with vodka to springiness them an other kick. "But don't archer anyone," helium implored me. "They were precise strict astir it. I mightiness get into unspeakable trouble."

Another portion of the program was to drum location the connection that helium was thing similar his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, whose nationalist displays of inebriation had dismayed and embarrassed galore Russians.

Putin donned a pilot's helmet to alert a combatant jet. His prowess astatine judo was displayed. All to pass that this was a vigorous, steadfast antheral of action, not an ailing drunkard.

Most notorious of all, perhaps, were the bid of photos starting successful 2007 showing him bare-chested, riding a equine similar a Russian Marlboro Man, oregon alert sportfishing successful a river, oregon flexing his muscles successful a vigorous butterfly stroke.

Was this for real? Or was determination a benignant of knowing humour to the images? Pomerantsev thinks the radical successful complaint of his PR knew precisely what they were doing.

"For 1 audience, this is precise crass, but we're going to bash it successful an ironic way, truthful that it's benignant of cool. For different audience, it was that Russia should beryllium led by a accepted hardman hero."

He adds: "Putin was playing this benignant of very, very, I suppose, accepted Soviet enactment role, but helium was doing it successful an epoch of the world show, MTV and sweetener daddies."

"Putin is the trendsetter," says Fiona Hill, a Russia specializer and advisor to US presidents. "He has shaped the representation of the archetypal populist president, the archetypal acclaimed strongman of the 21st Century."

Certainly, Putin was sending antithetic messages to antithetic audiences. To the extracurricular world, it was to awesome that Russia was nary longer anemic but a powerfulness to beryllium reckoned with. A carnivore with teeth and claws, arsenic helium erstwhile enactment it.

Other extravagant displays were adjacent much incongruous, possibly reflecting thing of the Leningrad schoolboy who was astatine past capable to unrecorded retired puerility fantasies: scuba diving to "discover" cautiously placed relics astatine the bottommost of the Black Sea; being harnessed into a motorised bent glider to soar precocious successful the entity flanked by endangered cranes; and petting a Siberian tiger cub.

Putin himself claimed that the constituent of each this was to rise biology and technological awareness. But did helium realise that these stunts verged connected self-parody? Or did nary of his aides by present situation archer him so? Or did helium simply not attraction anymore what others thought?

Early photos of Putin, similar the 1 successful his ID paper from 1985 for the Stasi (the East German concealed police), suggest a steely resoluteness down the disguise – a deliberate reticence nary uncertainty good suited for a KGB relation and further honed by KGB training.

After the USSR collapsed astatine the extremity of 1991, helium recast himself arsenic a authorities authoritative with a estimation for loyalty and efficiency, initially serving the politician of St Petersburg, past – aft a determination to Moscow – Yeltsin's statesmanlike administration. In photos of that period, helium is usually astatine the backmost oregon broadside of the picture, ne'er looking into the camera, ne'er centre stage.

Nina Khrushcheva, the great-granddaughter of the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, said she was told successful the 1990s that successful KGB circles, helium was known arsenic "the moth", a antheral who could fell anyplace helium wanted, a antheral successful the shadows.

But erstwhile helium became president, it was a antithetic story. He seemed to invited the accidental to don antithetic roles.

A fewer years later, erstwhile helium was photographed for Time magazine's Person of the Year grant successful 2007, helium instinctively settled backmost successful his seat and looked down the lens of the camera, similar a tsar connected a throne oregon a menacing mafia boss.

"He was performing powerfulness for me," says Platon, the Time lensman who took the picture. "As acold arsenic I know, Putin loves these images. Many of his supporters emotion the pictures. They amusement him arsenic a pugnacious nationalist."

It was what Pomerantsev calls "a postmodern mentation of authoritarian propaganda," with Putin playing retired each the roles similar a show artist.

And the assorted guises of a strongman which helium adopted were reflected successful his policies. To marque Russia beardown again, Putin argued determination needed to beryllium much order, much oversight from above. So, measurement by measurement helium tightened power implicit Russian society, reducing the abstraction for escaped look and criticism, turning the Duma into a rubber-stamp parliament, marginalising oregon eliminating governmental opponents and lashing retired astatine Western powers for failing to amusement Russia capable respect.

His hyper-macho topless photoshoots person been picked implicit endlessly arsenic a reflection of his confidence. But possibly these images besides archer america thing astir his insecurities: his tendency to reassure everyone, including himself, that helium was inactive the main man, arsenic acceptable arsenic he'd ever been.

After 2008 erstwhile helium stepped backmost from the presidency to go premier curate for 4 years, attention-grabbing photos specified arsenic these besides signalled that he, alternatively than President Dmitry Medvedev, was the existent powerfulness successful the land.

In 2011 came a melodramatic ocular alteration that besides marked a pivotal constituent connected his governmental journey. He abruptly appeared successful nationalist with a caller fuller, puffier face, much immobile and inexpressive. It was mystifying. Was this a motion of steroid attraction for immoderate illness? Or had helium resorted to Botox successful his quest to stave disconnected signs of diminution and aged age?

A fewer months aboriginal helium ran for the presidency again. The result was ne'er successful doubt, but astatine the open-air rally to state his victory, his caller look could beryllium seen streaked with tears.

I concluded the weeping was genuine. His dependable was besides hoarse with emotion. It looked similar alleviation that each had gone according to plan, contempt wide protests up of the election, erstwhile – astonishingly – immoderate protestors had dared rise slogans calling for him to go. But immoderate analysts person wondered whether it was yet different contrived performance, designed to evoke the spiritual imagery of a weeping icon, to suggest helium was present Russia's beatified saviour.

Whichever it was, it marked a defining moment. His grip connected the state had been tightening for years. From this epoch on, immoderate signifier of nationalist dissent was not conscionable discouraged but downright illegal. Putin was becoming progressively authoritarian and Russia little tolerant of absorption voices.

Nadya Tolokonnikova, 1 of the Pussy Riot feminists who was jailed and declared a overseas cause for her protests, enactment it this way: "Putin got obsessed with placing himself successful past arsenic the saviour, not conscionable of Russia, but of the full world. And this… is the turning constituent of him stepping into the Putin we cognize today."

Now aged 73, Putin is nary person to giving up the reins of powerfulness than helium was backmost successful 1999, but helium is seen little frequently.

Many speculate that successful caller years helium has go much paranoid, particularly since Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine and the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. Now, erstwhile helium does look successful beforehand of the camera, the occasions are highly orchestrated, arsenic though helium is intent connected keeping a region from the extracurricular world.

"He evidently wants to beryllium cautious that radical can't needfully way him down. It shows idiosyncratic who's paranoid astir his idiosyncratic information – from germs oregon assassination attempts," says Fiona Hill.

The warfare successful Ukraine is present cardinal to his image. Mikhail Fishman, a seasoned Russian journalist, says: "If we look backmost astatine what Putin was aft helium came backmost to the Kremlin successful 2012, helium inactive did not cognize what helium was, what he's about. But helium believes helium yet recovered his mission, what his relation is, and it is war."

Yet, much than 4 years since it started, the full-scale warfare with Ukraine is besides a burden. To proceed it looks progressively challenging, but to extremity it is besides fraught with danger. Putin has created an economical warfare instrumentality and a strategy of interior repression which helium cannot easy enactment into reverse without immense hazard to himself.

A 4th of a period aft assuming power, helium comes crossed arsenic distant and inflexible, arsenic though immobilised successful a trap of his ain making. It's a acold outcry from the representation of a dynamic sportsman and enactment leader which helium erstwhile hoped would specify him.

Lead representation credit: Reuters / Stasi Records Agency Dresden (Public Domain) / Getty Images

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