‘One Person to Blame’: Russian Vloggers Target Putin Directly

(KYIV, UKRAINE) – A new internal front has opened in Russia, as influential bloggers who once supported the Russian dictator have begun a public campaign against what they term “Putinism”, according to a Ukrainian vlogger citing open source intelligence.

The domestic information war compounds eight consecutive weeks of record low approval ratings for the Russian dictator, driven by extensive internet shutdowns, a deepening economic crisis, and unexplained explosions across the Russian Federation, for which the Kremlin offers no explanation, no comments, and no security guarantees.

People feel angry, abandoned, and frightened. Sensing this shift, several prominent bloggers are now prepared not just to speak against the dictator, but to actively fight Putinism. In 2026, many influential vloggers and opinion leaders who previously supported Vladimir Putin and the full scale invasion of Ukraine have turned against the regime.

The Kremlin dictator has lost any understanding of reality, confirming at a recent press conference that he is the ideologue behind the Telegram ban and internet shutdowns, claiming they guarantee people’s security. Millions are asking what is the reason for these attacks and problems, perhaps some failures of Vladimir Putin, forgetting they supported his invasion and now want a change. This kind of internal information war can accelerate the collapse of Vladimir Putin even faster than any military actions on the territory of the federation.

Citizens in cities like Tula are posting numerous videos describing hardships encountered after the Ukrainian Armed Forces demilitarise military facilities near their homes. They are angry not primarily at the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but at crumbling local authorities who take no responsibility, do not speak the truth, and do not help people solve these problems. According to official ratings shared by the Kremlin, Putin’s support keeps falling for eight weeks in a row. The situation is perhaps even worse than at the beginning of the invasion, when many Russians were also shocked.

Putin does not listen to his advisors, deputies, or ministers who keep telling him it is not the time to block the internet or ban Telegram. Millions are getting angry, and that may be a unique trigger leading to serious protest or even revolution inside Russia. Putin, a person who does not use the internet, cannot understand what he is ruining in the lives of these people. For vloggers, access to social media to communicate with people is supremely important. Putin failed this information operation because in the 21st century people begin using VPNs. When he prepares obstacles for VPN usage, new modifications appear.

Despite all the Kremlin’s dreams to ban people from using the internet, they continue using it, but with hardships. All the negative emotions and money they have to spend on VPNs make them angrier at Putin. For centuries in Russia, people loved blaming those around the leader, saying the tsar or dictator himself is good and just does not know the truth about the evil boyars around him. This time, Putin ruined this image when he confirmed he personally wants to keep the ban on Telegram and continue internet shutdowns for the sake of people’s security. This made people furious. They lost hope in their dictator, because for decades they were sure the deputies may be bad, but not Putin himself. This Kremlin goblin, who does not understand what the internet is, decided to confirm he is the reason for all of their problems. Millions guessed about that but simply feared to say it openly, to accept the fact that they made such a big mistake supporting him and the special military operation.

Now, popular Russian influencers speak not just with critique against Putin, but openly say they are prepared to fight Putinism. One Russian vlogger, a lawyer named Ilar Mislo, who helped Putin imprison Navalny and wrote numerous articles in support of Putin’s regime, began speaking against Putin in March, describing him as an illegitimate president. His parents, who happen to be doctors in a mental hospital, were so afraid for his future they placed him there for some time. He is back and did not change his opinion, and keeps saying he wants to fight Putinism, that the reason for all the problems in Russia, the collapsing economy, explosions, destruction, internet shutdowns, and censorship unbelievable for the 21st century, is just one person.

This demonstrates a crack inside the Russian population, where millions see that Putin does not understand the real state of the country, does not know the truth about the situation on the front lines or in various Russian businesses, and does not want to provide any support, counselling, or advice to more and more Russian regions that are turning into an active war zone. His rating keeps dropping. Where an army of propagandists once maintained his image and spoke in his defence, they now do the opposite, speaking against him and highlighting all of these mistakes, naming him as the main problem for all these negative consequences inside Russia.

This is a significant change, and it happens in a context where Vladimir Putin does not see it and does not understand it. He is not prepared to react and does not want to listen to the advice of people in the Kremlin who tell him to limit the bans, to allow people to use Telegram anyway, because they will find a way. He does not listen to that and keeps burning money on the destruction of Ukrainian villages while a big half of his country is already on fire.

The assessment was provided by the video blog of Anna from Ukraine.