{{Infobox film | name = Putin's Kiss | image = Putins_kiss.jpg | caption = | director = Lise Birk Pedersen<ref name="indiewire/49758">{{cite news |title=Meet the 2012 Sundance Filmmakers #48: Lise Birk Pedersen, "Putin's Kiss' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/01/meet-the-2012-sundance-filmmakers-48-lise-birk-pedersen-putins-kiss-49758/ |work=IndieWire |date=17 January 2012 |language=en}}</ref> | producer = Helle Faber<ref name="dfi.dk/putins-kys">{{cite web |title=Putin's Kiss |url=https://www.dfi.dk/en/viden-om-film/filmdatabasen/film/putins-kys |website=Danish Film Institute |access-date=30 January 2023 |language=en |date=2012}}</ref> | writer = | starring = Oleg Kashin<ref name="screendaily/5035165">{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Mark |title=Putin's Kiss |url=https://www.screendaily.com/putins-kiss/5035165.article |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=Screen Daily |publisher=Media Business Insight Limited |language=en}}</ref><br />Masha Drokova | music = | cinematography = Lars Skree | editing = Janus Billeskov Jansen, Steen Johannesen | studio = | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2012|1|19}} | runtime = | country = | language = Russian | budget = | gross = }} '''''Putin's Kiss''''' ({{Langx|ru|Поцелуй Путина|translit=Potseluy Putina}}) is a 2012 documentary, directed by Lise Birk Pedersen, about Russian youth activist Masha Drokova (Maria Alexandrovna Drokova, married name: Masha Bucher<ref name="Masha-VC"> *{{cite news |title=From Russia with money: Silicon Valley distances itself from oligarchs |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/26/silicon-valley-russia-oligarchs/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post}} *{{cite news |title=Former Pro-Putin Activist Celebrates U.S. Green Card on Instagram |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2017/03/13/former-pro-putin-activist-celebrates-us-green-card-on-instagram-a57408 |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=The Moscow Times |date=13 March 2017 |language=en}} *{{cite news |last1=Mervis |first1=Jeffrey |title=What kind of researcher did sex offender Jeffrey Epstein like to fund? He told Science before he died |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/what-kind-researcher-did-sex-offender-jeffrey-epstein-fund-he-told-science-he-died |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=science.org |publisher=AAAS |date=September 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022023725/https://www.science.org/content/article/what-kind-researcher-did-sex-offender-jeffrey-epstein-fund-he-told-science-he-died |archive-date=2021-10-22 |language=en}} *{{cite news |last1=Horn-Muller |first1=Ayurella |title=From Pro-Putin Activist To Venture Capitalist: The 30 Under 30 Elevating Founder/Investor Relations |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ayurellahornmuller/2018/12/23/from-pro-putin-activist-to-venture-capitalist-the-30-under-30-vc-elevating-founder-relationships/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=Forbes |date=December 23, 2018 |language=en}}<!-- https://www.ayurella.com/bio --> *{{cite news |title=Masha Drokova: 30 Under 30 - Venture Capital (2019) |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/masha-drokova/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=Forbes |language=en}} *{{cite news |last1=Mukherjee |first1=Supantha |last2=Coulter |first2=Martin |last3=Hu |first3=Krystal |title=Startups spring from ashes of Big Tech purge |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/startups-spring-ashes-big-tech-purge-2023-01-03/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=Reuters |date=3 January 2023 |language=en}} </ref>) and her experiences with the youth organisation Nashi.
==Plot==
''Putin's Kiss'' presents, through interviews and archival footage, Masha Drokova's experiences in the Russian youth organisation Nashi, which declares itself to be a democratic, anti-fascist, anti-'oligarchic-capitalist' movement. From the age of 16 through to 19 she is heavily involved in the organisation, working her way up into a position of influence and authority, eventually becoming the host of a youth oriented, state funded television program. She idolises Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the film's title refers to an incident in which, while receiving a medal from him, Drokova spontaneously hugged and kissed him.
As the film goes on, Drokova becomes friends with several other journalists, many of whom are critical of the Russian ruling party. Her views are called into question and she becomes increasingly torn between the two. The situation reaches a head when her friend and fellow journalist Oleg Kashin is violently beaten; though his attackers are never identified, it is speculated by many that they were working for the Kremlin in some capacity. By the end of the film, she is no longer a member of Nashi, and she is shown discussing her views freely with Kashin.
==Reception==
''Putin's Kiss'' won the World Cinema Cinematography Award in Documentary at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/05/world/putin-kiss-interview/index.html Kissing Vladimir Putin, on film] CNN, 5 April 2012</ref> It was pitched at Sheffield Doc/Fest's MeetMarket in 2009. It has received mixed reviews,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Catsoulis |first1=Jeannette |title=Youthful Russian Loyalty Turns to Political Disillusionment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/movies/putins-kiss-a-documentary-on-masha-drokova-of-russia.html |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=17 February 2012}}</ref> and holds a rating of 52 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic.<ref>[http://www.metacritic.com/movie/putins-kiss ''Putin's Kiss''] at Metacritic</ref> ''openDemocracy'' refers to it as "a complex tale of inner conflict"<ref>Bernas, Frederick (23 March 2012) [http://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/frederick-bernas/kiss-and-run-documentary-casts-fresh-light-on-pro-putin-youth-movement "Kiss and run: documentary casts fresh light on pro-Putin youth movement"], ''openDemocracy'', accessed October 10, 2012</ref> and the ''New York Post'' said that it was "more than just the portrait of a naive young woman...it’s a frightening look at Putin’s warped version of democracy."<ref>V.A. Musetto (February 17, 2012) [http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/movies/no_free_love_in_russian_kiss_doc_kGhaxytrHPgw0YlobFtUfP "No free love in Russian ‘Kiss’ doc"], ''New York Post'', accessed October 10, 2012</ref> ''Time Out New York'' afforded the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying that "Lise Birk Pedersen's doc offers some compelling peeks into Russia's bureaucratic skulduggery, but her attempt to frame the situation through a young convert's coming of age never really coheres. Innocence was lost; so, apparently, was much of the insightful commentary."<ref>Fear, David (February 14, 2012), [http://www.timeout.com/us/film/putins-kiss ''Putin's Kiss''], Time Out New York, accessed October 15, 2012</ref>
Alison Willmore, for The A.V. Club, wrote: "Moon-faced and busty, Drokova is a photogenic, articulate spokesperson, and it’s clear why the Nashi leadership seized on her and nurtured her; she’s the kind of representative who could be proudly introduced to foreign journalists. But her earnestness and genuine nature also lead to her disenchantment<ref name="rferl/24488442">{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Courtney |title=One Russian Teenager's Disillusionment |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/film_putins_kiss_on_nashi_activist_disillusionment/24488442.html |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=RadioFreeEurope / RadioLiberty |date=February 18, 2012 |language=en}}</ref> with the group, as she starts to socialize with Kashin and other liberals, and finds she can no longer see them as a monolithic enemy."<ref name="avclub/1798171575">{{cite news |last1=Willmore |first1=Alison |title=Putin's Kiss |url=https://www.avclub.com/putins-kiss-1798171575 |work=The A.V. Club |date=16 February 2012 |language=en}}</ref> J.R. Jones, for Chicago Reader, wrote: "Pedersen frames her film as a profile of Masha Drokova, who was only 16 when she joined Nashi in 2005 but whose smarts and enthusiasm catapulted her to the top echelon of the organization. A tireless Nashi activist who once collected a kiss from Vladimir himself on TV, Drokova was awarded a medal of honor from the president in 2007, attended a top university, and even had her own TV show, a real credential in a nation where the airwaves are strictly policed by the ruling party."<ref name="chicagoreader/putins-kiss">{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=J. R. |title=Putin's Kiss: The kids are hard right |url=https://chicagoreader.com/film/putins-kiss-the-kids-are-hard-right/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=Chicago Reader |date=7 March 2012}}</ref> Andrew Schenker, for ''Slant Magazine'', wrote: "''Putin's Kiss'' fails to dig too deep into the politics or inner workings of the new right-wing youth movement it profiles."<ref name="slantmagazine/putins-kiss">{{cite news |last1=Schenker |first1=Andrew |title=Review: Putin's Kiss |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/putins-kiss/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=Slant Magazine |date=12 February 2012}}</ref> Deborah Young, for ''The Hollywood Reporter'', wrote: "the filmmaker shows Masha’s rapid rise from a pleasingly plump and buxom 16-year-old to the peak of power in Nashi, a vast youth movement maneuvered by political forces loyal to Putin and President Medvedev. At Nashi's summer camp, she boldly manages to kiss her hero on the cheek, thus becoming known as “the girl who kissed Putin.” She has her own apartment, a new car and a pro-Putin talk show. She comes to think of herself as a journalist....portrays Masha as an ambitious, intelligent, right-wing young lady who comes fatefully into contact with a bunch of left-wing journalists and loses her bearings. The overall effect is tragi-comic, even considering the dark events that bring the film to an unexpected dramatic climax."<ref name="hollywoodreporter/266433">{{cite news |last1=Young |first1=Deborah |title=Putin's Kiss: Film Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/putins-kiss-film-review-266433/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=26 November 2011}}</ref>
John Powers, pop culture and critic-at-large on NPR's ''Fresh Air with Terry Gross'', wrote: "what makes ''Putin's Kiss'' interesting ... it offers a fresh glimpse into how Putin's Russia actually works"<ref name="npr/2012/02/22/147054516">{{cite news |last1=Powers |first1=John |title=After 'Putin's Kiss,' A Young Girl's Change Of Heart |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/02/22/147054516/after-putins-kiss-a-young-girls-change-of-heart |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=npr.org |agency=Fresh Air |date=February 22, 2012}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|http://putinskissmovie.com}} * [http://www.metacritic.com/movie/putins-kiss ''Putin's Kiss''] at Metacritic * {{IMDb title|2094920}} * [https://www.idfa.nl/en/film/1efb2ef4-d659-40f2-a000-c9bcbeae0d14/putins-kiss ''Putin's Kiss''] International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam * [https://interesting-study.com/putins-kiss/ Putin's Kiss] [https://interesting-study.com/putins-kiss/]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Putin's Kiss}} Category:2012 films Category:Danish documentary films Category:Documentary films about human rights Category:2012 documentary films Category:Documentary films about Vladimir Putin Category:Documentary films about Russian politics Category:Best Documentary Bodil Award winners Category:Documentary films about activists