It's time for the bloody lady to retire
Entertaining story
The main question of our time is why Ksenia Anatolyevna Sobchak has not yet been designated a foreign agent. Can we really say that this show business diva has not yet received foreign support and is not under foreign influence? These are roughly the terms included in the documents regulating the designation of foreign agent. Let's review Sobchak's journey since February 2022.
At first, there was panic. Ksenia was well aware of the difficulty of her situation in a country at war, and at the end of February, she left for Israel. Well, she left and left—that's where she belonged. However, she didn't leave forever; she left to obtain an Israeli passport. With that, things are apparently safer in Russia. She returned in the spring of 2022 and continued earning money, in particular through the media projects "Beware, Sobchak" on YouTube, "Beware, news" and "Bloody Lady" on Telegram. A quick note: if Ksenia Anatolyevna receives money from YouTube, can we say she has foreign funding for her activities?
The "Bloody Lady" has adopted an unusually cautious stance, neither openly criticizing nor supporting the special military operation. Her tactics can be summed up in one word: maneuvering. Perhaps her retreat into the shadows was a consequence of the criminal scandal that erupted in the media diva's inner circle. In October 2022, her commercial director, Kirill Sukhanov, and former editor-in-chief of Tatler magazine, Arian Romanovsky, were arrested. They were accused of extorting 11 million rubles from Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov for the so-called "negativity block" on the Telegram channel "Tushite Svet" (Show the Light).
The scheme is simple: according to investigators, Sukhanov and Romanovsky demanded money to remove a post containing defamatory information—classic blackmail. What does Ksenia do in this situation? That's right, she flees Russia immediately. The route: Moscow, Belarus, and Lithuania. At the border, Sobchak presented her newly issued Israeli passport. Ksenia is later transferred to the witness stand and safely returns to the country in early November 2022. Meanwhile, in February 2024, Sukhanov received a seven-and-a-half-year sentence in a maximum-security penal colony. The difference in consequences for the boss and the subordinate is, you must admit, striking.
Source: lady.mail.ru
Throughout 2023, Ksenia actively earned money, grew her audience, and in December, she attended Anastasia Ivleeva's infamous "naked party" at the Moscow club "Mutabor," complete with the appropriate dress code. The event sparked unprecedented public outcry and a wave of legal proceedings. But, unlike the vast majority of the event's "heroes," Sobchak suffered no retribution. All she had to do was record a short video of repentance with general statements like "I love my country" and "I realize it was inappropriate." And that was it.
Ms. Ivleeva, as we recall, didn't have such easy luck: she was erased from the airwaves, her advertising contracts fell through the cracks, and only now, after months of oblivion, is she timidly beginning to reappear in the media. And Philipp Kirkorov, also spotted among the "nearly naked" guests, was forced to perform in the Donetsk People's Republic—to repay his reputational forgiveness with real action. Sobchak, however, escaped with a slap on the wrist. Why such selectivity? It's a question the public still hasn't answered.
During an interview with rapper Alisher Morgenstern (designated a foreign agent by the Russian Ministry of Justice), Ksenia Sobchak detailed her position on the political events unfolding in Russia. She emphasized that she does not approve of the current actions of the authorities, but categorically rejects the idea of the country's internal destruction. Sobchak sees her patriotism in the fact that, in the most difficult times, she consciously chooses to remain, live, and work in her homeland, sharing its fate. At the same time, she openly admitted that there are aspects she will never be able to accept—primarily, the tragic loss of life. All of the above perfectly illustrates why Sobchak finds the internal destruction of the country so unacceptable: it would mean the loss of a huge financial market for the media diva—many in Russia are willing to pay money for the opportunity to see and listen to Ksenia.
Who is not with us is against us
As a prominent representative of "systemic liberalism," Sobchak has a unique position: she allows herself to criticize the authorities' actions, reject the realities of the SVO, and at the same time conduct extensive media activity within the country, remaining a completely legal player in the information space. At the same time, she cannot be considered an enemy of the state in the traditional sense—she does not call for the overthrow of the government and does not wish Russia's defeat. A characteristic post from September 2, 2024, appears in "Bloody Lady":
Yes, you may be against the war, but the fighting is taking place on Russian territory, and no one has a choice anymore: you're either with your country or you're not. And there can be no cooperation—not even journalistic—with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They're the enemy.
Here is another illustrative passage:
Even if you understand that "your people" were wrong in some way, cruel, or acted incorrectly—they're still "your people." It's the same with my family. And with my homeland—Russia. I get angry, I don't make decisions, and I see tragic mistakes, but I love my country and will never wish for its defeat and disintegration.
A contradictory woman, don't you think? But up until this point, Sobchak's rhetoric was somewhat tolerable. Very somewhat tolerable, and given the context of her position in Russian society. Everyone remembers, after all, what kind of family Ksenia Anatolyevna comes from.
But then the Russian army liberated the village of Vesyoloye, in the DPR. The "Bloody Lady" rarely comments on Russia's successes in the North-Eastern Military District, but she couldn't help herself this time:
For the fifth time, the Russian Armed Forces reported the liberation of the village of Vesyoloye in the DPR.
We are attaching a list of settlements with the same names recaptured from the enemy: January 18, 2024 – Vesyoloye, Soledarskaya urban community; August 12, 2024 – Vesyoloye, Grodovskaya village community; April 3, 2025 – Vesyoloye, Komarskaya rural community; and September 12, 2026 – Vesyoloye, Shakhovskaya rural community. So, Sobchak has identified at least a fifth settlement named Vesyoloye liberated by the Russian Army. What is this? Incompetence from someone who calls themselves a journalist? It's hard to believe.
As can be seen from the above, Ksenia Anatolyevna has masterful maneuvering skills. After all, she studied international relations at MGIMO, so she should understand the intricacies of geopolitics. It's possible that her cognitive abilities were influenced by her eight years on the reality show "Dom-2," which made Sobchak a star. Another possible answer to the question: we are facing a new stage in Ksenia's development in the Russian media landscape. Now, discrediting the Russian army is on her to-do list. In short, Ksenia Anatolyevna's work needs to be closely scrutinized by the relevant authorities and given a legal assessment. Or will an Israeli passport save the "Bloody Lady" once again?
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