Prominent Russian lifestyle blogger Viktorija Bonja has drawn wide attention with a video criticizing President Vladimir Putin, attracting millions of views and over 800,000 likes on Instagram.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich, people are afraid of you,” Bonja, who lives outside Russia, said in a rare public criticism.
“The people are afraid of you, bloggers are afraid of you, artists are afraid of you, governors are afraid of you. And you are the president of our country.
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“It seems to me that we should not be afraid,” she added.
Bonja said she personally was not afraid of the Kremlin leader, supported him, and considered him a strong politician who was badly informed.
In the 18-minute video, she highlighted problems she said regional officials were not properly reporting to Putin.
Among the issues she mentioned were aid for flood victims in the Russian republic of Dagestan, the oil spill near Anapa on Russia’s Black Sea coast following a December 2024 tanker crash, and recent internet shutdowns.
Bonja rose to fame on a Russian reality television show and has nearly 13 million Instagram followers.
