Darya Dugina was vocal in her support for the Russian government over the invasion of Ukraine. A suspected vehicle bombing has claimed the life of a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s. According to Russia’s investigating committee, Darya Dugina, 29, perished following an explosion on a road outside of Moscow.
As “Putin’s brain,” the Russian scholar Alexander Dugin, her father may have been the intended victim of the assault.
Mr. Dugin is a well-known advocate of ultra-nationalism who is thought to be close to the Russian president.
The philosopher was giving a talk at a festival close to Moscow when Alexander Dugin and his daughter attended.
At the Zakharovo estate, where Russian poet Alexander Pushkin once stayed, the “Tradition” festival bills itself as a family outing for art enthusiasts.
The two were scheduled to depart the location on Saturday night in the same automobile, but Mr. Dugin apparently decided to go his own way at the last minute.
Unconfirmed video that was uploaded to Telegram appears to show Mr. Dugin staring in disbelief as emergency personnel arrive at the scene of the smouldering wreck of a car.
Investigators have determined that Ms. Dugina passed away at the spot close to Bolshiye Vyazemy.
They claimed that when an explosive device hidden under the automobile exploded, it set the car on fire. Experts on forensics and explosives are looking at it.
Ukrainian involvement in the incident has been denied by a Ukrainian official.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a counsellor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, stated: “Ukraine, of course, has nothing to do with this since we are not a criminal state, which is the Russian Federation, and even less a terrorist state.”
If any connections to Ukraine were discovered, according to Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministry’s spokeswoman, it would be “state terrorism.”
Despite not being a state official himself, Alexander Dugin is a significant political figure in Russia.
His anti-Western, ultranationalist mentality has dominated Russian politics and influenced President Putin’s expansionist foreign policy, particularly with regard to Ukraine.
Now the focus will be on the perpetrator of this attack. The author Denis Pushilin “The “head” of the self-declared pro-Russian “Donetsk People’s Republic” has already accused Ukraine of being to responsible, saying on Telegram: “Vile villains! In an effort to kill Alexander Dugin, the terrorists of the Ukrainian state destroyed his daughter. a vehicle. Daria is a true Russian girl, and we treasure her memory!”
Officials in Moscow will be alarmed by incidents like this, especially in the wake of a slew of explosions and attacks in the seized Crimea and in Russian districts close to the Ukrainian border.
Putin has delivered peace and stability to Russia after the chaotic 1990s, when car bombs and assassinations were frequent, according to Kremlin propaganda, which emphasises this point frequently. This car bombing in the Russian capital calls into question that thesis.
Alexander Dugin, who does not hold an official post in the government, is thought to be close to the Russian president and has even been dubbed “Putin’s Rasputin.”
Darya Dugina, a well-known journalist herself, openly backed the invasion of Ukraine.
She was subject to sanctions earlier this year after being charged by US and UK officials with spreading “disinformation” online about Russia’s invasion.
In an interview in May, she referred to the conflict as a “clash of civilizations” and took delight in the fact that Western sanctions had specifically targeted both her and her father.
The US imposed sanctions on Alexander Dugin in 2015 as a result of his alleged involvement in Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
According to reports, Mr. Putin was greatly influenced by the philosopher’s works, and many in the Kremlin consider him to be the principal creator of the ultra-nationalist worldview.
Mr. Dugin has advocated for Russian military intervention in Ukraine for years and has urged on Moscow to act more assertively on the international stage.
