Producer Alexander Rodnyansky has begun work on a film adaptation of All the Kremlin's Men, a non-fiction bestseller by journalist Mikhail Zygar, Variety reports citing the producer. Rodnyansky himself describes the project as a Russian House of Cards.
«The war that shook the foundations of modern society was started by one man: Putin,» Rodnyansky says.
According to the producer's plan, the series, instead of depicting the «machinations of individual players» from Zygar's book, will describe «the evolution of Putin's thinking» to the Western audience. Initially, the former KGB colonel tried to flirt with the West, Rodnyansky says, but after the war in Iraq and the color revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, the president changed his rhetoric and felt betrayed. «The war in Ukraine is a direct result of that sentiment,» Rodnyansky believes.
The series will be produced by Rodnyansky's Los Angeles-based company AR Content. The producer did not reveal the cast, the showrunners and the writers of the future series. The release date of the show also remains unknown.
After the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, the producer has repeatedly spoken out against it. As director of the Kinotavr festival, he also stated that this year's event would not take place: «You can't have festivals when Russia is waging an aggressive war.»
On March 17, The Insider learned that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had sent a letter to Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova with a request to «consider excluding Vladimir Zelensky (who was an actor and a comedian before his Ukrainian presidency) and Rodnyansky from the cultural agenda of the Russian Federation.»