Bondarenko was previously a deputy of the Saratov City Duma from 2011 to 2016, and he is well known for his confrontational nature and criticism of the ruling United Russia party.

[6] A commission of the Saratov Oblast Duma also accused Bondarenko of corruption for receiving advertising revenues and donations through his YouTube channel.

[7] The Saratov Oblast Duma, by a majority vote, adopted a draft resolution declaring that Bondarenko violated the law.

In February 2022, Bondarenko was impeached from the Saratov Oblast Duma by a vote from other deputies on the grounds of improperly declaring donations to his YouTube channel.

Both the 2021 and 2022 elections were marred with allegations of voter fraud, including due to the novel use of electronic voting, the results of which tend to favor the ruling party by a significant margin.