The Case of Sobchak: A film by, about and for the Russian...

The Case of Sobchak: A film by, about and for the Russian oligarchy

By Clara Weiss
6 July 2018

The Case of Sobchak, a documentary about the rise and fall of Anatoly Sobchak, the mayor of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) during the period of capitalist restoration, and the political mentor of Vladimir Putin, has been showing in Russia since June 12.

The documentary was made by Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, and the film director Vera Krichevskaya, one of the founders of the TV channel “Dozhd” (rain), which is closely associated with Russia’s liberal opposition. Ksenia Sobchak herself is one of the most famous figures of the liberal opposition and ran for president earlier this year, after consultations with Putin.

What is remarkable about the film is that it emphasizes rather than de-emphasizes the fact that Sobchak’s political career, from beginning to end, developed in close collaboration with Putin.
When he was recruited to Sobchak’s team, Putin was working as the adviser to the university’s director on behalf of the KGB’s First Division, the Foreign Intelligence Department. Putin first became “senior” aide to Sobchak and then, in 1991, the vice-mayor of St. Petersburg. Sobchak, his widow tells us, completely trusted “Volodya” (the diminutive of Vladimir in Russian). According to her, Putin’s “experiences in Europe” (i.e., his work for the KGB in East Germany) “appealed” to Sobchak. We see family footage showing “Volodya,” Sobchak and his daughter, Ksenia, playing at the family’s dacha. (Putin also happens to be Ksenia Sobchak’s godfather.)

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