Blogger Attracts Attention of Russians and the Kremlin for Saying Putin Doesn’t Know What is Happening in His Country

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 16 – Viktoriya Bonya, a former Moscow tv host who now writes a popular blog, has attracted widespread attention both from the Russian population and even from the Kremlin for saying that Putin doesn’t know what is happening in his country and needs to establish a channel that will bypass what she suggests are aides who don’t tell him the truth.

            In an 18-minute blog post (instagram.com/reel/DXFiPlrCBdS/), she casts herself as a supporter of the president who fears he is being isolated, the latest example of the old Russian belief in “the good tsar” being separated from his people by “the bad boyars” (novayagazeta.eu/articles/2026/04/14/mnogogo-vy-ne-znaete, meduza.io/feature/2026/04/14/narod-vas-boitsya-viktoriya-bonya-zapisala-obraschenie-k-vladimiru-putinu and maximonline.ru/guide/obrashenie-viktorii-boni-k-vladimiru-putinu-pochemu-ono-vyzvalo-obshestvennyi-rezonans-i-pochemu-bonya-izuchena-vsego-na-1-id6966563/).

            Bonya says that it is obvious that Putin doesn’t know what is agitating Russians about such problems as the flooding in Dagestan, oil leaks, the killing of protected species, the destruction of farm animals, and the problems that have arisen because of government restrictions on the Internet.

            Her post has attracted more than 23 million views and over 500,000 likes, with some of the visitors expressing a certain contempt for her ideas given that she lives in Monaco rather than Russian but overwhelmingly, Russians have backed her arguments. The Kremlin has acknowledged it is paying attention too but has asked pro-Kremlin media not to cover the story (meduza.io/news/2026/04/16/v-administratsii-prezidenta-kak-uznala-meduza-nastoyatelno-poprosili-loyalnye-smi-ne-razvivat-temu-obrascheniya-boni).

            Given that Kremlin critics have rarely been able to reach as many people or gain the attention of people in the Kremlin, it is entirely possible that what some are calling “glamour” protests will now grow as other popular bloggers speak out while professing only loyalty and concern.

            That may not sound like much but in a country where the Kremlin tries to block all criticism otherwise, this is an important development and one that may have an impact not only on future policies by on politics more generally as Russia heads into the campaign for the Duma election now scheduled for September.