Russia’s state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has opened an investigation into the Russia-1 television channel over an April 16 episode of the talk show Vecher s Vladimirom Solovyovym (“Evening with Vladimir Solovyov”), in which the host directed a string of insults at blogger Viktoria Bonya, the outlet Mozhem obyasnit (“We Can Explain”) reported.
Journalists obtained a viewer complaint objecting to Solovyov’s remarks: during the broadcast, the host called Bonya a “worn-out slut cluttering up the airwaves” and a “worn-out piece of trash.” The viewer asked Roskomnadzor to investigate.
“This program […] carries a ‘12+’ rating, meaning children could have seen it — and by law, children must not be exposed to obscene language on the air,” the complaint said. The agency confirmed it had taken the complaint up for review, according to its written response, which journalists also obtained.
Roskomnadzor is separately investigating Solovyov Live for potential violations of the law on protecting children from information harmful to their health and development. The law requires all television channels to display age restrictions and content ratings. Solovyov’s morning show — in which he also attacked Bonya — carried no age rating, the viewer said in the complaint.
Ksenia Sobchak had previously filed a complaint against Solovyov with the Investigative Committee of Russia, asking its head, Alexander Bastrykin, to assess the legal implications of the host’s remarks about Bonya.
In mid-April, Viktoria Bonya released a video address to Vladimir Putin listing five problems facing Russia that “not a single governor would speak about.” The Kremlin soon responded, saying Bonya’s address had touched on “resonant issues” that were being “actively addressed”
The address set off a public conflict between Bonya and television host Vladimir Solovyov and State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov, both of whom publicly insulted her. Bonya responded by threatening a joint lawsuit against them — and blogger Artemy Lebedev — on behalf of the women they had insulted.
Social media users — women and men alike — rallied behind Bonya, posting videos criticizing Lebedev, Milonov, and Solovyov and demanding apologies from them.
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