Kremlin wobbles as TV babe warns ‘coiled’ Russians able to explode at out-of-touch Putin
Glamorous TV star Viktoria Bonya has rocked the Kremlin by warning an “out-of-touch” Putin that “coiled” Russians are ready to explode over his bungled leadership
Model and influencer Viktoria Bonya has hit out at “out-of-touch” Russian officials(Image: victoriabonya/Instagram)
Vladimir Putin’s iron grip on power is showing cracks after a stunning broadside from a glamorous reality TV star forced the Kremlin into a rare, grovelling admission of failure. Model and influencer Viktoria Bonya has sent shockwaves through Moscow after posting a viral clip trashing “out-of-touch” officials.
The social media siren warned that the Russian public is being pushed to a breaking point by corruption and lies and they are finally ready to snap.
Bonya, who currently lives outside of Russia, didn’t hold back as she laid into the tyrant’s inner circle for masking the grim reality of life in the country.
Addressing the risk of a national uprising, she said: “You know what the risk is? That people will stop being afraid and they’re being squeezed into a coiled spring and that one day that coiled spring shoot out.”
In a move that has stunned political observers, Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov actually acknowledged the bombshell video rather than silencing it.
He said: “Of course, we’ve seen it. It’s quite popular. It touches on many topics, on each of which, as you can see – as you have seen – work is actually being done.
“But, to be fair, a great deal of work is being done on them, a large number of people are involved, and none of this has been overlooked.”
The admission is being seen as a sign of massive weakness for Putin, whose bungled invasion of Ukraine has already seen hundreds of thousands of Russian troops sent to the slaughter.
Bonya’s selfie-style video specifically targeted the Kremlin’s desperate attempts to stifle dissent, including sweeping crackdowns on social media and messaging apps and reports of locals forced to use pagers and walkie-talkies to communicate.
She also addressed the failure by authorities to handle floods in Dagestan and a cattle disease outbreak in Siberia.
The absurdity of the communication crackdown was even mocked by comedian Andrei Kaygorodov, who posted a skit titled “How to use your mobile phone in the centre of Moscow,” showing the useless devices being used as ping-pong bats and trouser straps.
Directly calling out the Russian President, Bonya claimed Putin is being kept in the dark by his own “yes-men.”
She said: “The people are afraid of you. Ordinary people are afraid, bloggers are afraid, artists are afraid.”
She added: “The most frightening thing is that this is happening because you, Vladimir [Putin], do not know what is going on in the country. You are not being given accurate information. There is a big wall between the people and you.”
With parliamentary elections looming later this year, some sceptics suggested the influencer might be working with the Kremlin to act as a “safety valve” for public anger.
However, Bonya has hit back at the rumours, insisting her appeal, which has now racked up over 20 million views and a million likes, was entirely her own.
The video, titled “An appeal to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. From all concerned Russians,” remains a thorn in the side of a regime that is looking increasingly rattled.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
