Daughter of Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin killed

A powerful explosion ripped apart an SUV near Moscow on Saturday night, instantly killing its driver, identified as Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian political commentator Aleksandr Dugin.

The incident took place on a highway 20km west of Moscow at around 9:35pm local time, with witnesses saying the blast occurred in the middle of the road, scattering debris all around. The car, which was engulfed in flames, then crashed into a fence, according to photos and videos from the scene.

The emergency services said one person was inside the car and was instantly killed by the blast – a female whose body was reportedly burned beyond recognition.

The authorities have yet to officially confirm the identity of the victim, but multiple Russian Telegram channels and media sources reported that the victim was Darya Dugina (Platonova), 30. Her father, Aleksandr Dugin, was spotted at the scene soon after the incident, visibly shocked, according to several videos circulating on social media.

Preliminary reports suggested that a home-made explosive device might have been involved, but investigators have yet to confirm the cause of the blast, or any potential motive in case of foul play.

Earlier on Saturday evening, Dugin was giving a lecture on ‘Tradition and History’ at a family festival in Moscow Region. His daughter attended the event as a guest. Unconfirmed reports say Dugin initially planned to leave the festival with his daughter, but later decided to take a separate car, while Darya took his Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.

Dugina was a political commentator and daughter of the veteran Russian philosopher, known for his staunch anti-Western and ‘neo-Eurasian’ views.

Western media has painted Dugin as a driving force behind President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy over the past decade. In recent months, CBS dubbed him “the far-right theorist behind Putin’s plan,” while the Washington Post called him a “far-right mystical writer who helped shape Putin’s view of Russia.”

In Russia, the supposed shadowy puppet master is largely considered to be a marginal figure. While he has served as an adviser to several politicians, Dugin never enjoyed official endorsement from the Kremlin. In 2014, he was fired from his position at Moscow State University, after critics interpreted his call to “kill, kill, kill” those behind massacres in Ukraine, such as the Odessa tragedy, as a call for a genocide against Ukrainian people.

The US think tank RAND Corporation wrote in 2017 that despite Western media reports of Dugin’s alleged “ties and connections” to the Russian leadership, he is “perhaps best thought of as an extremist provocateur with some limited and peripheral impact than as an influential analyst with a direct impact on policy.”

www.rt.com/russia/561233-moscow-car-blast-dugin

The daughter of a close ally of Russia's President Vladimir Putin has been killed on a highway near Moscow.

Darya Dugina died after her car exploded while she was driving home, Russia's investigative committee said.

It is thought that her father, the Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin who is known as "Putin's brain," may have been the intended target of the attack.

Mr Dugin is a prominent ultra-nationalist ideologue who is believed to be close to the Russian president.

Alexander Dugin and his daughter had been invited as guests of honour at 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 which takes place at the Zakharovo estate where Russian poet Alexander Pushkin once stayed.

The pair were due to travel back from the event on Saturday evening in the same car before Mr Dugin made the decision to travel separately from his daughter at the last minute.

Unverified footage posted on Telegram appears to show Mr Dugin watching in shock as emergency services arrive at the scene of the burning wreck of a vehicle.

The BBC has not been able to verify the footage independently.

Investigators confirmed that Darya Dugina died at the scene near the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy.

They said an explosive device had gone off before the car caught fire. Forensic and explosive experts are investigating.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62621509

A criminal case has been launched over the death of the daughter of prominent Russian philosopher and political commentator Aleksandr Dugin, the Investigative Committee announced on Sunday morning, adding that a car bomb is suspected as the cause.

Darya Platonova, 30, has been officially confirmed as the victim of the explosion outside the Russian capital, the agency said in a statement.

According to investigators, a blast ripped through her Toyota Land Cruiser at around 9pm local time on Saturday as she was driving near the village of Bolshie Vyazemy in Moscow Region.

It is thought an explosive device detonated inside the vehicle, which then caught fire. “The female driver, who was behind the wheel, has been killed on site,” the Investigative Committee said.

www.rt.com/russia/561236-moscow-dugina-murder-car-bomb

Russia accused Ukraine of murdering Daria Dugina, the daughter of Vladimir Putin's 'guru'. How will this assassination affect the war in Ukraine? Where does it leave the southern counter-attack by Ukraine?

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has made public a video of Ukrainian national Natalya Vovk, identified as the prime suspect in Saturday’s car bombing that killed journalist Darya Dugina in Moscow. The footage published Monday shows Vovk and her teenage daughter entering Russia, inside the building where Dugina lived, and leaving the country in haste.

Vovk, 43, was named by the FSB on Monday as the prime suspect in the assassination of Dugina. The Ukrainian national arrived in Russia on July 23, using Donetsk People’s Republic license plates to avoid scrutiny. While in Moscow, she swapped the plates on her Mini Cooper to those of Kazakhstan, a friendly former Soviet republic. On Sunday, after the bombing, Vovk drove to Estonia with Ukrainian plates, the FSB said.

Photos of the different license plates were included as part of the video presentation.

The authorities also said Vovk may have used her teenage daughter as cover to move around Russia more easily. She rented an apartment in the same building where Dugina lived, and was captured on the doorway camera.

A photo ID of Vovk in the uniform of Ukraine’s National Guard was published in April on the Russian internet, as part of a dox of neo-Nazi Azov regiment members. It lists her surname as Shaban – the surname her daughter used when entering Russia, according to the FSB. Ukraine previously claimed it was not involved in the assassination.

www.rt.com/russia/561318-dugina-suspect-vovk-video