The daughter of a prominent Moscow nationalist who advocated the “Russian world” ideology to justify Kremlin expansion, herself sanctioned by the US and UK, was killed in a car bombing.
Darya Dugina, 29, father of far-right political theorist Alexander Dugin, was driving a Toyota SUV week He died six nights in a blast about 12 miles west of the capital. .
A family friend, Andrey Krasnov, told TASS that the car belonged to Dugin, who was planning to bring his daughter back from an event. home, but “walks a different path”.
Dugin, a prolific geopolitical writer and a harsh critic in the United States and Europe, is an outspoken advocate of Eurasian policies that see Russia as an orthodox belief and values that The Empire of the Free West Competing.
He believes that Russia’s mission is to unify the historical Russian-speaking world under the Kremlin and has been a vocal advocate for Russian control of Ukraine.
While Dukin’s influence in the Kremlin is limited, President Vladimir Putin wrote a long article in 2021 on “the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians”, he The article dismissed modern Ukraine as “totally Soviet era.”
Russian investigators are working to determine who may have ordered and carried out Saturday’s killings.
If there is evidence that Ukraine planned a plot to kill Dukina, “then we should talk about the state terrorism policy implemented by the regime in Kyiv,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
“Of course, Ukraine has nothing to do with” Dugina’s death, Mikhailo Podoljak, adviser to the chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Ukrainian television. “We are not a criminal state like the Russian Federation.”
Dukin, 60, was sanctioned by the United States in 2015 for his alleged involvement in Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.
Dugina was sanctioned by the US and UK following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. Britain called her a “regular and high-profile contributor to disinformation” about the war. The U.S. Treasury Department cited her role as editor-in-chief of the United World International website.
Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of political consultancy R.Politik, said Dukin’s influence on Putin has never been as often portrayed. Still, Dukina’s murder could lead to further radicalization of Russian society, she said.
“This murder has radicalized the conservative camp and the authorities’ understanding of ‘red lines’ is deepening,” Stanova said by phone.
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