Why are Russian beauty influencers going after Putin on social media? Here's what is happening

Russian beauty influencers are slamming President Vladimir Putin, directly telling him on social media about the ills plaguing the country, especially the social media and internet curbs. Victoria Bonya, who posts content on lifestyle and make-up tips, wrote, "Vladimir Vladimirovich, people are afraid of you. The people are afraid of you, bloggers are afraid of you, artists are afraid of you, and governors are afraid of you. And you are the president of our country." Bonya, who lives in Monaco, made it clear that she supports Putin before listing specific issues in the country. She flagged the supposed slow response to the Dagestan floods as one of them, and the mismanagement of the livestock culls in Siberia. However, the biggest pain point is the intensifying restrictions on online social networks. “There’s a feeling that we’re no longer living in a free country,” she said. The video posted on Tuesday had garnered 26 million views and over 75,000 comments by Friday.

Internet shutdown in Russia

Another popular beauty influencer, known as Aiza and also a foreign resident, backed Bonya and said restrictions on the Telegram messaging platform would be a “huge hit to the Russian economy”. She also criticised the high taxes, saying, "How much money do you need to steal so that it’s enough?" In the video, which she later deleted, Aiza said, “The average MP owns property worth billions, millions of dollars and holds multiple (foreign) passports." Notably, Russia has clamped down on the internet in the country. In a previous report, we stated how people have been complaining of internet blackouts in the country. Around early March, the problem was widely reported from central Moscow and St Petersburg, where mobile internet was down.

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Instagram and Telegram banned in Russia

Putin's administration defended the curbs, saying they were imposed for security reasons because Ukraine was using "increasingly sophisticated methods" of attack. WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube do not work in Russia, and a full nationwide block on Telegram came into effect in April 2026. The regulator, Roskomnadzor, cites law violations and failure to remove banned content as the reason for the shutdown. Russia has also come down hard on VPNs, which Russians have been using to bypass the existing restrictions on internet access. Instagram was officially blocked in 2022. Russians were banned by law from advertising on websites blocked in the country. With Telegram also gone now, online influencers have lost the majority sources of their income.