Kremlin comments on blogger’s viral video appeal to Putin

The Kremlin has commented on a video statement directed at Vladimir Putin by popular blogger and TV host Victoria Bonya, in which she calls on him to address a series of problems she says Russian authorities are failing to respond to.

"Vladimir Vladimirovich, people are afraid of you," Bonya says in the video, which has garnered more than 23 million views on Instagram. "The public is afraid of you, bloggers, artists are afraid of you, governors are afraid of you. And you're the president of our country. In my view, we shouldn't fear you."

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the authorities had "certainly" seen the video, as it had attracted "significant attention" on social media. "It touches on many topics separately, and as you can see, work is actually being carried out on these topics," Peskov said. "These are sensitive, high-profile topics, but to be fair, a lot of work is already underway. Many people are involved, and none of it is being ignored."

In the video, Bonya lists five problems she says "no governor is willing to mention": recent catastrophic flooding in Dagestan; the ongoing contamination of beaches in Anapa with fuel oil following a 2024 oil spill; regulations permitting the hunting of animals on Russia's endangered species registry; the seizure and destruction of livestock in the Novosibirsk region; and internet blackouts.

The independent Russian outlet Meduza reported, citing a source at a pro-Kremlin news outlet, that the Putin administration's political team had instructed media "not to pursue the story about Bonya's statement."

Bonya rose to fame in the 2000s through Dom-2, Russia's take on Big Brother, where she started out as a contestant before becoming a host. She went on to build a popular Instagram page covering beauty, fashion, and fitness, appeared in music videos for Russian pop stars, and became a regular presence on TV and magazine covers.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Bonya drew widespread attention and criticism for spreading conspiracy theories, including claims that the pandemic was orchestrated to enable the mass installation of 5G towers and that vaccines were a vehicle for implanting microchips. Bonya currently lives outside Russia. In recent months, she has repeatedly commented on high-profile issues in the country, including livestock seizures in the Novosibirsk region and the arrest of blogger Artyom Chekalin.