‘Putin’ is the new “up close and personal” biopic directed by Andrei Kondrashev about the longest-serving Russian leader since Josef Stalin. YouTube’s new Wikipedia-linking feature kindly lets us know that VGTRK, the television network that produced this film “Is financed in whole or in part by the Russian government,” as if the US’ putatively private TV networks aren’t lobbing Deep State propaganda at viewers constantly – of a weirdly seditious stripe.
Ten days ago, on March 17, 2018, Putin won an 8-way presidential election whose results were never in question, with more than 75% of the vote. Some observers in Russia have called the landslide victory a “rally around the flag” response to the UK’s accusations over the Salisbury poisoning attack of former Russian spy Sergei Skirpal and his daughter.
While the US and NATO have expelled Russian diplomats in solidarity with the UK, Putin denies all accusations of Russian government involvement in the attack, saying he does not have chemical weapons and that it would be nonsense for Russia to launch such an attack in the lead up to an election.
So, of course this film is propaganda but what isn’t?
