The Kremlin instructed loyal media to 'not develop the topic of Bony's appeal' 0 19

On Thursday, April 16, the Russian authorities reacted to the video appeal of blogger Victoria Bonya to the country's president Vladimir Putin, writes DW. The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, acknowledged that Bonya touched on 'quite resonant topics'. However, he stated that 'a lot of work is being done' on these topics, 'a large number of people are involved', and that 'all of this has not gone unnoticed'.

After that, Bonya recorded a new video appeal, in which she tearfully thanked the Kremlin 'for not ignoring her'. She said that she does not know what her fate will be next, but believes that 'it was worth it'.

A source from the publication 'Meduza' in one of the media outlets loyal to the Russian authorities reported that a 'strong request' had come from the political block of the presidential administration 'not to develop the topic of Bonya's appeal' to Putin. An exception is prescribed only for the reactions of officials, the source told journalists.

Bonya's Appeal to Putin

Victoria Bonya published a video appeal 'on behalf of the people' to Vladimir Putin on April 14 on the social network Instagram. She stated that the president of Russia lives 'in another dimension' and 'knows very little'. In the video, she spoke about five problems that 'no governor will mention': these are the flooding in Dagestan, the oil spill in Anapa, the killing of 'red-listed animals', the mass slaughter of livestock in the Novosibirsk region, and the blocking of social networks. Bonya also mentioned the 'national' messenger Max: 'You are being lied to - they created something that does not work'.

Her appeal caused a significant resonance, gathering 1.3 million likes, nearly 73,000 comments, and over 100,000 reposts on Instagram by the end of April 16.

Following Bonya, another popular blogger, Aiza, published a video appeal criticizing the situation in Russia. Actor Ivan Okhlobystin, who openly supports Russia's war against Ukraine, called the restriction of the internet in Russia a 'huge mistake', comparing it to an attempt to return to the USSR.