Inside the hidden workings of media control: Sobchak providing updates to the Presidential Administration, pleading for pardon, and aligning content based on Kremlin instructions

09 июля 2026 г., 10:33

540     0

Inside the hidden workings of media control: Sobchak providing updates to the Presidential Administration, pleading for pardon, and aligning content based on Kremlin instructions

The media have obtained far more audio messages and letters from Ksenia Sobchak, part of which were published today on her hacked channels "Bloody Lady" and "Sobchak."

They perfectly illustrate how censorship currently works in Russia and who relays to top media managers what they should and should not write about. On the side of the Moscow authorities, this is Deputy Mayor Alexei Nemeryuk, and on the side of the Russian Presidential Administration, it is Vladimir Tabak, Director General of the ANO "Dialogue," who conveys instructions from Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Kiriyenko (Tabak refers to him as "the boss" in correspondence). Current sensitive topics include Ilya Remeslo, gasoline shortages, and drone attacks.

Recall that today two of Sobchak’s channels were hacked, and for just over an hour, fragments of Ksenia’s correspondence, which had been obtained by the Blackmirror project (b8m.info), appeared on them. Afterwards, the channels were returned to the owner’s control. We have additional audio files and letters, which can be reviewed in the video.

What’s interesting. Ksenia sent and received the most messages from Vladimir Tabak. There is no ambiguity there; both parties state that on all censorship matters, Tabak conveys the position of Sergei Kiriyenko. For instance, Ksenia, after getting into another spat with the leadership of "Dozhd," sends Tabak screenshots and writes: "This is how you should work in media. Show this to SVK (Kiriyenko — ed.). Subtle but cutting." However, Tabak does not appreciate her efforts. He sends her a voice message: "Don’t you have anything better to do? Even I’m tired of reading this squabble."

Tabak and Sobchak also discuss the "famous" appearance of socialite Bonya. Tabak writes that he spent half the evening exchanging messages about it with "the boss" (Kiriyenko — ed.) and that Bonya is just "hype-seeking." But Ksenia does not believe it and thinks that Tabak was forbidden by Kiriyenko from telling the truth. "Everything is done very cleverly — like, the boyars are bad, but Putin is always good." Tabak doesn’t really object.

From the messages, it is clear that the biggest "hit" for Sobchak was over the interview with Ilya Remeslo — a propagandist who unexpectedly launched a criticism of the authorities. Sobchak initially tried to defend her position: "I sincerely believe that such an asshole with these talking points is beneficial to SVK right now. But of course, I could be wrong, because no one will admit it directly." But Tabak is very angry. "I want you to live with the feeling that I may not forgive you." "I don’t know if I’ll be able to communicate with you the same way after this," he writes. As a result, Sobchak admits that she is "guilty." And then she repents for that "blunder" for a long time in every "report."

And there are many such reports. And they must be sent to both Tabak and Nemeryuk. From both of them, Ksenia got flak during the coverage of the largest drone attack on Moscow, when the oil refinery in Kapotnya and the "Sadovod" market were targeted. In particular, both the Presidential Administration and the city authorities were dissatisfied with four posts in channels from Sobchak’s network. Ksenia sends Tabak a voice message: "When I get fucked, I want to know what for." She states that all agreements with the Presidential Administration are being fulfilled by her channels and that these posts do not violate those agreements. Next, Sobchak sends Tabak and Nemeryuk a report, in which she points out that state channels are somehow allowed to do more than she is. (Apparently, because in state channels almost all subscribers are bots, and the authorities are only concerned with channels that are genuinely popular with the public — ed.). As examples, she cites posts from the "Moscow" channel ("the network of state-affiliated media manager Abu") and "Moscow Today" ("the network of state-affiliated media manager Potupchik").

Ksenia sends a separate audio report to Nemeryuk when problems with gasoline began in Moscow. Any mention of this topic incites the wrath of the Moscow authorities. In her message to Nemeryuk, Sobchak says: "We have agreements, we fulfill all of them, but from that side (the Moscow authorities — ed.), we are dictated to on every point... We are ready to go along with everything within the framework of the agreements we can fulfill... Yes, we have signed documents (with the Moscow authorities — ed.), we do our part, but in return, there are no exclusives or promised stories." Sobchak asks for a meeting with "Lesha" (Nemeryuk).

Incidentally, the latter also addresses Ksenia on personal matters. In particular, he asks her not to write about her friend, the former head of Rosmolodezh, Ksenia Razuvaeva, after she was criticized by the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin.