April 23, 2026

"We Shouldn't Feel Fear"


"We Shouldn't Feel Fear"
TV presenter and blogger Victoria Bonya in her address to the Russian president. Victoria Bonya, Instagram.

On April 14, television hostess and blogger Victoria Bonya posted a video addressing the president, saying, "Vladimir Vladimirovich, [people] are scared of you." Two days later, she uploaded another recording, crying and thanking the Kremlin for watching her message.

In an 18-minute-long video addressed to Putin, Bonya said, "The people fear you. Bloggers, artists fear you. Governors fear you. You are the president of our country. I think we shouldn't feel fear." The journalist said she wasn't scared of the Russian president.

In her video, Bonya noted five problems facing Russia: flooding in Dagestan, fuel oil contamination of the Black Sea in Anapa, rules permitting the killing of animals, the mass slaughter of livestock in Novosibirsk, and internet blockages. The blogger also said that the cost of living in Russia was getting out of control, making people want to leave the country. Within a day, the video received a million likes.

During a press briefing on April 16, Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said, regarding Bonya's comments, that "many topics are being touched on there, and as you have seen, work is already being done on them." Peskov continued, "None of this is being ignored."

In response to Peskov's comments, Bonya uploaded a teary-eyed video thanking Putin and Peskov for not having "passed by" her comments. The blogger said she felt touched that the Kremlin watched her message and informed her that "work is already underway on the issues we raised."

In her address, Bonya said that she saw the BBC and the banned opposition channel Dozhd TV were analyzing her comments. Other independent channels, such as The Insider, reached out to the TV presenter. She responded, "Don't involve me, please, I am not with you, I am with the people, I am a part of the people." According to Meduza, Bonya also said that she is not "an opposition figure."

Bonya said that she did not know what the future held, but that her video was "worth it." According to the blogger, she wasn't paid, and if she hadn't recorded her appeal, it would have been a "betrayal to the Russian spirit." "I am here for us, for our great country, to live the best life possible," said the TV presenter.

Bonya does not reside in Russia.

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