Novel by Russia’s culture minister Vladimir Medinsky to be adapted for screen

Russia’s Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky is having his novel The Wall adapted for screen, marking the first time a major series has been made from a book written by a high-level incumbent official. Medinsky, a conservative politician known for his anti-western rhetoric, announced yesterday that he will “neither be able to read the script nor work on the film”, but will take an advisory role in the development of the series.

“I am planning to hand over creative copyright, but I cannot participate in the making of the film unfortunately,” Medinsky said. “Maybe occasionally [producers and I] could meet late in the evening, before leaving the ministry, and have a cup of coffee so I can make some historical clarifications.”

The four-part series, which won’t be financed by the government according to Medinsky, is scheduled to start filming this summer and will air on state-owned Russia-1 TV network. Medinsky’s first work of fiction, The Wall is set during the Siege of Smolensk between 1662 and 1633 when the city was besieged by the Muscovite army.

Since assuming office in 2012, Medinsky, who was referred to by the book’s publisher OLMA Media Group as a ”Russian Umberto Eco and to some extent an Orthodox Christian Dan Brown”, has made the promotion of traditional values and the development of patriotic cinema the centrepiece of his tenure.