Physiognomy never earned status as a science since ancient Greek times, yet the impulse to read faces in public life persisted. The rise of photography in the 19th century amplified this trend. Political technologists used lighting and angles to spotlight a politician’s desirable features while downplaying flaws, captivating large audiences. With digital capture and tools like Photoshop, this capability grew boundless.
Facial analysis specialist and psychotherapist Mikhail Baev asserts that photography does not reveal a person’s inner world. The link between a static face and current emotions is broken in meaningful ways.
“Political technologists aim to present the right image. Voters must trust the candidate, see shared identity, and feel sympathy,” Baev explains. “Hair can be changed, glasses chosen, a suit tailored to shape impressions in a photo. But these are surface choices and do not reflect character,” the expert notes.
As an illustration, Baev points to Barack Obama and how lighting emphasizes certain features to alter perceived dominance and trust. Different lenses can reshape facial proportions as well.
“Obama’s face is distinctive. It has strong brow ridges and a relatively narrow lower face. Highlighting the brow arches can suggest high dominance, while eye emphasis can foster confidence. Emphasizing the lower part of the face can imply lower dominance, and a blurred look may signal uncertainty,” Baev adds.
Thus, camera techniques can be tuned to meet the needs of specific groups, casting doubt on whether a photo truly reveals a politician’s character. From this perspective, Baev argues that inner nature is not discernible from still imagery alone.
From a methodological standpoint, Baev believes that genuine emotion is detectable primarily through video rather than still frames.
chronicle of a person
Politicians and their supporters have long understood that video analysis can uncover true feelings behind the public masks crafted over years. Over decades, leaders have learned to conceal genuine motives. One can glimpse this by reviewing speeches from political events in the mid-twentieth century and comparing them with modern productions. Baev notes that archival video involving figures from that era reads differently with today’s tools, while contemporary politicians are trained to remain visually steady in front of cameras.
Baev explains that today videos offer two main analytic perspectives. First, observers can study the expressive techniques used to present a message and evaluate their effectiveness by learning the facial cues unique to the individual. Second, analysts can gauge stress by tracking the intensity and frequency of facial movements.
MV Lomonosov at the Faculty of Psychology at Moscow State University has contributed to this field, underscoring the importance of systematic video analysis in understanding public personas.
embers
To uncover hidden feelings in a politician, one must review diverse videos of the person in different settings, considering both the recording conditions and the spoken words. When examining figures such as Donald Trump, Baev notes careful control of expression and strong debating experience. He cites examples of how televised presentation shapes perception and how a profiler program can reveal patterns in facial behavior.
“Trump often emphasizes key points with slight eyebrow raises and movement toward each other, accompanied by a distinctive mouth stretch. In stressful moments, the mouth movements intensify,” Baev observes.
To reveal a leader’s intrinsic traits, facial expressions must be analyzed across varying contexts and platforms. It is also essential to account for regional expression tendencies, as gestures may carry different meanings in different backgrounds.
A cited case shows a moment when a news anchor reported a sudden event while Trump was en route to the airport. Although caught off guard, he managed to articulate a composed message. Baev describes this as an example of how expressions can be misread without context and regional familiarity.
“Facial cues are crafted to influence perception and can be misinterpreted by viewers who lack context,” Baev remarks. He considers this video a key example of typical facial patterns seen in Trump’s public appearances.
There are also instances of subtle disgust in expressions, such as during a tour of a historic site where a public official notes security strengths. Baev points out that such expressions may conflict with spoken statements and can be interpreted differently when considering the speaker’s origins and habitual habits.
macron
Emmanuel Macron provides another case study. Baev notes that Macron sometimes raises his eyebrows to stress points and appears relaxed in certain addresses. In some speeches, he maintains elevated eyebrows as a sign of emphasis. In other moments, his mouth stretches diagonally under stress, a characteristic gesture Baev associates with Macron in tense exchanges.
Baev also highlights how a long, deliberate stress response can manifest when Macron uses English in a speech, slowing his reactions and shaping audience interpretation through word choice and cadence.
Scholz
Baev observes that Olaf Scholz exhibits relatively standard micro-movements, such as lip tightening and chin elevation, which act like punctuation as he transitions between ideas. When stressed, Scholz tends to a defensive stance or “stonewalling,” forming a reserved exterior while internal tension rises. A video of Scholz speaking to environmental students captures a moment when interruptions and raised tensions reveal stress dynamics. These cues make external calmness more revealing about internal strain.
Baev emphasizes that each politician’s facial language is distinct, a fact that becomes evident only when a broad set of videos is reviewed. This makes it possible to understand how life history shapes facial behavior in public settings.
The project leader, Aleksey Gusev, a professor at Moscow State University, has summarized the approach as real profiling—the prediction of behavior through analysis of individual traits and a structured scientific method.