The expat influencer [Victoria Bonya](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXFiPlrCBdS/), whose video appeal to Putin last week listing problems facing the country has been watched by tens of millions of Russians, was the target of a vitriolic attack by TV host Vladimir Solovyov. Sanctioned for his support for the Ukraine war, Solovyov launched a characteristically splenetic tirade against Bonya, calling her a “harlot” who should be investigated and saying she should not “clog up the information space”. She struck back, including posting an AI-generated video of herself as Spider-Woman taking on some of her critics.
What was striking, though, was that Bonya, while highlighting a series of failures by his government, avoided directly challenging Putin. While warning him that “the people are afraid of you, artists are afraid, governors are afraid”, she suggested that he was, as a result, not being properly informed about what was happening in the country. “There is a big, fat wall between you and us, the ordinary people.”
Whether out of belief or caution, Bonya was reprising an age-old theme of Russian political narratives, the myth that the woes of the nation were the fault not of the “good tsar” – who, after all, was chosen by God – but the “bad boyars” (aristocrats and officials) misleading or frustrating him.
Putin has long tried to capitalise on this myth. Earlier in his reign, he would often descend upon the locations of disasters or industrial disputes and publicly remonstrate with the local governor or business leaders. He was never the problem, only the solution, was the message.
However, after 26 years of Putin’s direct and indirect rule over the country, the “good tsar” myth is getting harder and harder to sustain. Instead, it has become a safer, more politically deniable way of expressing complaints.
Last week, an industrial manager interviewed in a nationalist media outlet complained that his industry was facing a “fundamental crisis”, but again covered himself by observing that “I don’t know what the government knows about the truth” and pondering on “who’s briefing the higher-ups”.
Likewise, the pro-Kremlin war correspondent Andrei Filatov warned that “the real losses are either concealed entirely or spread out over time, creating the impression at the top that the situation is not so critical. As a result, the army is not adapting.”
Nonetheless, there is little real belief in Russia that Putin is genuinely unaware of the situation in the country. At best, the assumption is that when he is misinformed, it is because he would rather not hear bad news.
The result is a slow decline in Putin’s ratings. Even according to state polling agency VTsIOM, for six consecutive weeks, his approval ratings have fallen, sliding to 66.7 per cent. By Western standards, this seems still very high, but comparisons with genuine multi-party systems do not work. More to the point, this is the lowest level since 2022, and the President’s United Russia party is only polling at 27.3 per cent.
None of this can be taken to herald the imminent end of Putin’s rule. There is no meaningful organised opposition, his control of the security apparatus is unchallenged, and in the middle of a war, even his critics do not want to destabilise the country. Instead, it demonstrates how greater and greater effort needs to be spent on maintaining the status quo, and one of its greatest assets – Putin’s own personal authority – is in decline.
Yabbatown on
If there’s 140 million people in russia, with half of them being male (which isn’t the case – don’t know the exact ratio off the top of my head but there’s more females), and 1.4 million casualties from the war in Ukraine (an increasing amount of well-connected russian military bloggers believe this figure) then that’s 2 percent of the male population. They can’t hide the scale of these losses any more.
Combine this with the constant claims of „success,“ such as repeatedly claiming towns only 50km from where they were 4 years ago, then its becoming increasingly obvious that the they’re being lied to.
The losses, the lack of movement on the front, and the increasingly dire economy are all becoming clearer by the day. They can’t reform their army and make the systematic changes they need while at war. Another Victory day parade will be cancelled or will be embarrassingly small. It’s all getting harder to hide and the lies are harder for the average russian to believe, no matter how hard they try
Prok- on
El más cobarde
lacerantplainer on
Most of what russia seems to be is myth and propaganda….
The 2nd strongest military in the world – myth
The russian empire – myth
russian tech – old outdated and mostly invented during the cold war.
russian economic power – myth.
Living-Price-6158 on
Her face is clearly her fortune…….
cepeen on
It’s a tea time!
Tall_Pressure7042 on
Russia is basically a gas station madquerading as a country — John McCain.
BobDope on
Well he lost Orban and his puppet Trump is like a rabid dog who should be put down so yeah he’s seen better days
Hugsy13 on
What I don’t understand (yet), is why Russia is actually blocking the internet, which, seems to be causing a lot of these current issues..?
Perhaps I’m just being hopeful, but are they now blocking the internet because people were becoming to outspoken and it was spreading that they’re not doing well in the war? Maybe due to all the oil refinery attacks or something? And it was better to block the internet than to let those rumours, however true they may be, run wild on Russian internet? I’m not getting my hopes up yet either way.
leifnoto on
Fox News addict I know was just talking about how he used to respect Putin but has most of it by now. This guy used to say Zelensky was a piece of shit dictator.
Correct-Insurance861 on
The only good Tsar is a dead Tsar.
Слава Україні 🇺🇦 Героям Слава 🇺🇦
NotOK1955 on
Historical, Russia has always thrived on myths.
I can’t recall a time when its people DIDN’T live in two worlds at the same time: extreme wealth or poverty.
Слава Україні!
🇺🇦
Successful_Gas_5122 on
His problem is that too many veterans are coming back alive to tell the tale.
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While spats between Russian social media influencers and TV propagandists may attract public attention, the real problem facing the Kremlin’s political managers is the growing undercurrent of policy complaints by insiders from businesspeople to generals. The usual response is to play to the traditional myth that a “[good tsar](https://inews.co.uk/opinion/the-kursk-offensive-shreds-putins-attempts-to-portray-himself-as-peter-the-great-3233778?ico=in-line_link)” is being betrayed and misinformed by his officials, but with [Vladimir Putin’s](https://inews.co.uk/topic/vladimir-putin?ico=in-line_link) approval ratings falling, it is getting harder to rely on this to deflect open criticism.
The expat influencer [Victoria Bonya](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXFiPlrCBdS/), whose video appeal to Putin last week listing problems facing the country has been watched by tens of millions of Russians, was the target of a vitriolic attack by TV host Vladimir Solovyov. Sanctioned for his support for the Ukraine war, Solovyov launched a characteristically splenetic tirade against Bonya, calling her a “harlot” who should be investigated and saying she should not “clog up the information space”. She struck back, including posting an AI-generated video of herself as Spider-Woman taking on some of her critics.
What was striking, though, was that Bonya, while highlighting a series of failures by his government, avoided directly challenging Putin. While warning him that “the people are afraid of you, artists are afraid, governors are afraid”, she suggested that he was, as a result, not being properly informed about what was happening in the country. “There is a big, fat wall between you and us, the ordinary people.”
Whether out of belief or caution, Bonya was reprising an age-old theme of Russian political narratives, the myth that the woes of the nation were the fault not of the “good tsar” – who, after all, was chosen by God – but the “bad boyars” (aristocrats and officials) misleading or frustrating him.
Putin has long tried to capitalise on this myth. Earlier in his reign, he would often descend upon the locations of disasters or industrial disputes and publicly remonstrate with the local governor or business leaders. He was never the problem, only the solution, was the message.
He is [older now, and more tired](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/putin-armour-pierced-could-lead-cash-flow-problem-4352251?ico=in-line_link). Ever since Covid, he has travelled around the country much less. Even so, he continues to try and distance himself from problems and embarrassing failures. Last week, for example, he presided over a meeting of senior officials and complained about the lack of economic progress – this year’s growth rate is likely to be around 1 per cent – demanding that they come up with measures to turn this around. At no point did he admit that the main reason was [the war](https://inews.co.uk/topic/russia-ukraine-war?ico=in-line_link) (and accompanying [sanctions](https://inews.co.uk/topic/sanctions-against-russia?srsltid=AfmBOorlwWCT8HCdtiGS3scNV16bhi97igllVft4QzDXSnrYQdnUoGXc&ico=in-line_link)) that he alone had chosen to launch.
However, after 26 years of Putin’s direct and indirect rule over the country, the “good tsar” myth is getting harder and harder to sustain. Instead, it has become a safer, more politically deniable way of expressing complaints.
Last week, an industrial manager interviewed in a nationalist media outlet complained that his industry was facing a “fundamental crisis”, but again covered himself by observing that “I don’t know what the government knows about the truth” and pondering on “who’s briefing the higher-ups”.
Likewise, the pro-Kremlin war correspondent Andrei Filatov warned that “the real losses are either concealed entirely or spread out over time, creating the impression at the top that the situation is not so critical. As a result, the army is not adapting.”
There is a serious problem with deception and misreporting in the Russian government and military hierarchy alike. Chief of the general staff [Valery Gerasimov](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/wagner-mutiny-putin-general-gerasimov-reluctant-replace-2468459?srsltid=AfmBOoqoAx_YY58SgpTwGAg3VMqiTuK-FYZNQVWjjtyk-m0I2aPMXjas&ico=in-line_link) has a tendency to announce victories ahead of the facts. On Tuesday, for example, he announced the “complete liberation” of the contested [Luhansk region](https://inews.co.uk/opinion/escaped-luhansk-putin-parents-secretly-learning-ukrainian-3706733?srsltid=AfmBOoqv7YuR4jpXhZzqp-JSFjTTRqiL0IiFfrACn15S_-Q4VDO0P8yb&ico=in-line_link) for the fifth time.
Nonetheless, there is little real belief in Russia that Putin is genuinely unaware of the situation in the country. At best, the assumption is that when he is misinformed, it is because he would rather not hear bad news.
The result is a slow decline in Putin’s ratings. Even according to state polling agency VTsIOM, for six consecutive weeks, his approval ratings have fallen, sliding to 66.7 per cent. By Western standards, this seems still very high, but comparisons with genuine multi-party systems do not work. More to the point, this is the lowest level since 2022, and the President’s United Russia party is only polling at 27.3 per cent.
None of this can be taken to herald the imminent end of Putin’s rule. There is no meaningful organised opposition, his control of the security apparatus is unchallenged, and in the middle of a war, even his critics do not want to destabilise the country. Instead, it demonstrates how greater and greater effort needs to be spent on maintaining the status quo, and one of its greatest assets – Putin’s own personal authority – is in decline.
If there’s 140 million people in russia, with half of them being male (which isn’t the case – don’t know the exact ratio off the top of my head but there’s more females), and 1.4 million casualties from the war in Ukraine (an increasing amount of well-connected russian military bloggers believe this figure) then that’s 2 percent of the male population. They can’t hide the scale of these losses any more.
Combine this with the constant claims of „success,“ such as repeatedly claiming towns only 50km from where they were 4 years ago, then its becoming increasingly obvious that the they’re being lied to.
The losses, the lack of movement on the front, and the increasingly dire economy are all becoming clearer by the day. They can’t reform their army and make the systematic changes they need while at war. Another Victory day parade will be cancelled or will be embarrassingly small. It’s all getting harder to hide and the lies are harder for the average russian to believe, no matter how hard they try
El más cobarde
Most of what russia seems to be is myth and propaganda….
The 2nd strongest military in the world – myth
The russian empire – myth
russian tech – old outdated and mostly invented during the cold war.
russian economic power – myth.
Her face is clearly her fortune…….
It’s a tea time!
Russia is basically a gas station madquerading as a country — John McCain.
Well he lost Orban and his puppet Trump is like a rabid dog who should be put down so yeah he’s seen better days
What I don’t understand (yet), is why Russia is actually blocking the internet, which, seems to be causing a lot of these current issues..?
Perhaps I’m just being hopeful, but are they now blocking the internet because people were becoming to outspoken and it was spreading that they’re not doing well in the war? Maybe due to all the oil refinery attacks or something? And it was better to block the internet than to let those rumours, however true they may be, run wild on Russian internet? I’m not getting my hopes up yet either way.
Fox News addict I know was just talking about how he used to respect Putin but has most of it by now. This guy used to say Zelensky was a piece of shit dictator.
The only good Tsar is a dead Tsar.
Слава Україні 🇺🇦 Героям Слава 🇺🇦
Historical, Russia has always thrived on myths.
I can’t recall a time when its people DIDN’T live in two worlds at the same time: extreme wealth or poverty.
Слава Україні!
🇺🇦
His problem is that too many veterans are coming back alive to tell the tale.