The Kremlin on Friday denied a Russian blogger’s claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not informed about real problems in the country. TASR informs about it according to a Reuters report.
Viktoria Bonja, who is famous for her Russian reality show and currently lives in Monaco, said in a video posted on social media this week that she herself supports the Russian president and considers him a strong politician who is simply “ill-informed”.
“No. It’s not like that,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to a question on Friday. “Putin is the head of state and, given his powers, he deals with the widest range of issues on the agenda,” he added.
In the video, which had more than 20 million views, 1.4 million likes and 75,000 comments on Instagram, the blogger listed five problems, according to her, the officials do not inform Putin truthfully. She claimed that the Russians were suffering and that their corrupt officials were oppressing them so badly that they might one day revolt.
In addition, she spoke against it widespread restrictions on the internet, social media and a messaging app and also accused the authorities of a slow response to floods in Russia’s autonomous republic of Dagestanreminded the Reuters agency. Instagram and Facebook are banned in Russia, but Russians can connect to both using a VPN. Since mid-March, Telegram has also practically stopped working. “People are afraid of you,” the blogger sent to Putin, saying that there is a “great gulf” between him and the people.
On Thursday, according to Reuters, the Kremlin accepted the criticism addressed to the Russian authorities by Bonja. When asked if he had seen her appeal, Peskov answered that of course. “It’s quite popular,” he said, noting that the challenge is about a lot of issues that involve a lot of effort, involving a lot of people, and none of it is overlooked.
The statement of the spokesman of the Russian president prompted Bonja to publish a new video in which she cried with joy. In it, she thanked the Kremlin for the attention it paid to the topics she raised and noted that it is part of the Russian nation and stands by it.
The idea of Putin as a “good tsar”introduced by unscrupulous officials, is not new, Reuters noted. Kremlin critics believe the Russian blogger’s call may have been coordinated with the authorities to make people feel their problems are being addressed and aired ahead of parliamentary elections later this year. Bonja herself stated that she initiated the call solely on her own and that she was acting on behalf of the Russians.
