This article analyses the mechanism of legitimization of the presidential role of Vladimir Putin through two major media shows that marked his presidency: his annual press conference and the programme Direct Line. The format of these shows and the contribution of the media enabled the president publicly to stage both his grandeur and his proximity to his citizens. The latter then appeared to be impeded by the intrusion of a malevolent third party - the intermediate powers -, activating the old myth of the 'good tsar'? and the 'bad boïars'?. Putin's presidential model was thus legitimized by the fact of him taking on a symbolic role anchored in the national imagination.