Another wave of public outcry tests Putin’s rule in wartime Russia

Some Russian influencers recently released public appeals to President Vladimir Putin, criticising his Government and policies, and a number of his loyalists even threatened a revolt — the latest wave of public outcry over the country’s strained wartime economy and mounting internet restrictions.

While none of this dissent indicates an imminent threat to Putin’s rule, analysts say it presents a new and growing challenge for the Kremlin. “Greater and greater effort needs to be spent on maintaining the status quo,” Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russian politics who heads the Mayak Intelligence consultancy, wrote in an analysis.

A 19-minute video by popular Russian blogger Victoria Bonya has received 31 million views on Instagram since it was published 10 days ago. In the video, Bonya, who has 13.6 million followers on the platform, complained to Putin that he was probably misinformed about some things — local authorities’ poor handling of recent floods in the southern province of Dagestan, the culling of livestock in Siberia that prompted protests from farmers, crippling internet restrictions and strains on small businesses.

Bonya, a popular Russian TV host who now lives abroad, emphasised that she supports Putin, but she said ordinary Russians and his own officials are too scared to tell him the truth.