Sales training: the income of foreign bloggers has tripled
The income of Russian bloggers recognized as foreign agents tripled in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2024 — from 37.8 million to 117.4 million rubles. Despite the ban on advertising, YouTube and Telegram became the main earning channels, where the number of integrations increased significantly, and they also shifted their focus to cooperation with foreign companies. What schemes they use to circumvent the law and whether it is worth introducing new restrictions can be found in the Izvestia article.
How have foreign agents been able to increase revenue
In the first quarter of 2025, the incomes of Russian foreign bloggers tripled compared to the same period in 2024, from 37.8 million to 117.4 million rubles, the Association of Bloggers and Agencies (ABA) told Izvestia. Today, such influencers use workarounds: they advertise through intermediaries or use native advertising, which is not considered prohibited, they explained. Foreign agents began to cooperate with foreign companies — to advertise real estate, crypto exchanges, medical services and education abroad.
"There is more content from foreign bloggers, while the price of advertising has not increased much, or even decreased," the ABA clarified.
The ban on advertising from foreign agents has effectively excluded them from the legal Russian advertising market. However, brands, especially foreign and independent ones, continue to cooperate with bloggers, including through intermediaries, the audience remains loyal, and the bloggers themselves adapt, they added.
So, Yuri Dud (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) earned 58 million rubles in the first quarter, and a year ago this figure was 25 million, Maxim Katz (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) — 21 million (it was 3 million rubles), and Ekaterina Shulman, who had previously left the market (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) — 17 millions.
Yaroslav Meshalkin, managing partner of the Heads'made digital communications agency, believes that foreign bloggers have become less picky, they had to take on advertising, including products and services that they had previously rejected due to reputational risks and legal restrictions.
"I think this will be a clear sign for further tightening of regulation," he believes.
Do I need to introduce new restrictions for foreign agents
Despite the current restrictions, a gray area of advertising placements by foreign bloggers has been created in the market. A significant part of the audience remained loyal, foreign companies consider such influencers as access to a solvent and active audience in Russia, especially in the niches of cryptocurrencies, technology and foreign real estate, said Yulia Zagitova, founder of Breaking Trends, secretary of the Union of Journalists of Russia.
— For many brands, the Russian market remains important, and legislative restrictions at the level of foreign jurisdictions do not apply to them. In addition, advertising is often placed through platforms that are physically located outside of Russia (YouTube, Telegram), which allows you to circumvent some of the restrictions, she said.
According to her, an increase in the income of foreign agents may be an additional argument in favor of stricter controls. This topic is currently being actively discussed, but at the same time, government regulators face difficulties because they cannot control foreign platforms. Therefore, any additional measures are likely to be targeted and primarily aimed at limiting monetization within the country, the expert noted.
Kristina Petrova, founder of the PR Perfect communications agency, believes that revenue growth will not continue in the coming quarters. In her opinion, foreign bloggers are more likely to have just reached their plateau now.
— In fact, such bloggers continue to use the Russian audience, infrastructure and trust of citizens, while promoting alien interests and receiving money for it — thanks to advertisers who do not bother to check the context. This is not just an economic issue, it's an information security issue," said State Duma Deputy Anton Nemkin in a conversation with Izvestia.
According to him, when a foreign agent earns three times more, he is three times more dangerous as an instrument of influence. Against this background, it is necessary to work out mechanisms to tighten control over content monetization, introduce additional financial transparency measures, and fine advertisers who knowingly cooperate with foreign agents.
— We cannot allow the status of a foreign agent to become just a "label without consequences". This should be a real limitation with real economic and reputational costs. Otherwise, we are not fighting the threat, but only fueling it," the deputy added.
The main task is to ensure that not a single ruble earned in Russia is used against its citizens. Anyone who consciously gets involved in subversive actions should understand that in a state governed by the rule of law, responsibility comes for this, he concluded.
The State Duma believes that in Russia the responsibility for foreign agents is too soft and it is necessary to work on strengthening it. Vasily Piskarev, the head of the security Committee, wrote about this on his Telegram channel on June 17. "Taking into account the increasing challenges and threats, the punishment for traitors should be stricter. The preparation of relevant amendments to the legislation is underway," he added.
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