Russian blogger’s video address to Putin draws 20 million views and 1 million likes on Instagram
A video in which blogger Victoria Bonya addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin has drawn more than 20 million views and a million likes on Instagram.
Bonya subsequently posted a follow-up video responding to the attention her address had received. She said journalists had reached out after the video was published, including Yury Dud, as well as the independent Russian broadcaster TV Rain and the independent Russian investigative outlet The Insider, but that she had no intention of giving interviews.
“Guys, we have different goals. […] I’m not giving any interviews. I love my country, I won’t betray it. I’m for the country, for the people. I have nothing more to say. I’m not some kind of opposition figure. I never was and I don’t plan to be. I’m just a person with a heart,” Bonya said.
On April 14, Victoria Bonya posted an 18-minute video address to Vladimir Putin on Instagram, saying that everyone is afraid of him — but not her. In the video, she listed 5 pressing problems that, in her words, “no governor will talk about”: flooding in Dagestan, fuel oil contamination of beaches and the sea near Anapa, rules permitting the killing of animals listed in the Red Book, the seizure and slaughter of livestock in the Novosibirsk Region, and internet restrictions.
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