Updated 4 hours
image source, Archyde.com
Darya Dugina was a voice supporting the invasion of Ukraine.
The daughter of a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin was assassinated on Saturday night near Moscow.
Darya Dugina, daughter of the Russian philosopher Alexander Dugindied following his car exploded while driving home, the Russian Investigative Committee reported.
His father, known as “Putin’s brain”might have been the objective forecast of the attack.
Dugin is a prominent ideologue ultranationalist who is believed to be close to the Russian president.
So far there is no certainty regarding how the attack or explosion occurred.
Some Russian and pro-Russian figures immediately accused Ukraine, but President Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, denied the accusations.
last minute change
Dugin and his daughter had been invited as guests of honor to a festival at an estate near Moscow, where the philosopher gave a lecture.
The “Tradition” festival describes itself as a family festival for art lovers that takes place on the Zakharovo estate, where the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin once stayed.
Both were due to travel back from the event on Saturday night in the same car before Dugin made a last-minute decision to travel separately from his daughter.
Unverified footage posted on Telegram appears to show Dugin looking on in shock as emergency services arrive at the scene showing the remains of a burning vehicle.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify the footage.
Researchers confirmed that Darya Dugina died on the spotcerca del pueblo de Bolshiye Vyazemy.
image source, Alexander Dugin
Although Alexander Dugin does not hold an official government position, he is a symbolic figure in Russian politics.
They said an explosive device had gone off before the car caught fire. Forensic and explosives experts are still investigating the incident.
Analysis by Will Vernon, BBC journalist in Moscow
Although Alexander Dugin is not a state official, he is a symbolic figure in Russian politics.
his philosophy ultranationalist and anti-Western it has become the dominant political ideology in Russia and has helped shape President Putin’s expansionist foreign policy, most notably in Ukraine.
Attention will now turn to who was behind this attack.
Denis Pushilin, the “head” of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian “Donetsk People’s Republic”, has already blamed Ukraine, writing on Telegram “Vile villains! The terrorists of the Ukrainian regime, trying to eliminate Alexander Dugin, blew up his daughter.. . In a car. We celebrate the memory of Darya, she is a real Russian girl!”
image source, Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation
Russian investigators at the scene of the vehicle explosion.
Incidents like this will make Moscow officials nervous, especially following a series of explosions and attacks in occupied Crimea and in Russian regions near the Ukrainian border.
Kremlin propaganda constantly emphasizes how Vladimir Putin brought security and stability to Russia following the turbulent 1990s, when car bombs and assassinations were commonplace.
This car bomb in the Russian capital undermines that narrative.
Sanctioned journalist
Although he does not hold an official position in the government, Dugina’s father is a close ally of the Russian president and has even been described as the “Putin’s Rasputin”.
image source, Getty Images
Dugin is a prominent ultranationalist ideologue who is believed to be close to the Russian president.
The philosopher’s daughter, Darya Dugina, was a prominent journalist who openly supported the invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this year it was sanctioned by the American and British authorities, who accused the 29-year-old of contributing to the “disinformation” on the internet in connection with the invasion of Russia.
image source, Getty Images
Both Darya Dugina and her father were sanctioned for their support of the war in Ukraine.
In May, Dugina described the war in an interview as a “clash of civilizations” and expressed pride in the fact that both she and her father had been sanctioned by the West.
Alexander Dugin was sanctioned by the United States in 2015 for his alleged involvement in Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
His writings are credited with profoundly influencing Vladimir Putin’s worldview and he is considered one of the leading intellectual architects of ultranationalist ideology to which many in the Kremlin adhere.
For years, Dugin has called on Moscow to assert itself more aggressively on the world stage and has supported Russian military action in Ukraine.
