Russian blogger who became critical of war the second to be 'assassinated' in the country

A Russian pro-war blogger was killed in a blast in a St Petersburg cafe yesterday, Sunday 2 April. Authorities reported that approximately 30 people were injured in the explosion, with 10 of them in a critical condition.

Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was a pro-Kremlin propagandist with over 560,000 followers on Telegram. Like many other Russian war bloggers, Tatarsky vocally supported Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but became increasinglycritical of Kremlin leadership as Russian soldiers experienced numerous setbacks and failures in the conflict.

How did the bombing happen?

A St Petersburg website said the blast occurred at a cafe called Street Food Bar No 1 that was once owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner group. It is unclear who was behind the bombing and no one has claimed responsibility.

Russian state media RIA Novosti reported that one source who was in the café at the time said a woman gave Tatarsky a bust of his likeness as a gift that then exploded, however this could not be independently verified.

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In comments recorded on video, witness Alisa Smotrova said that a woman who identified herself as Nastya asked questions and talked with the blogger. Smotrova cited Nastya as saying she had made a bust of Tatarsky but that guards requested she leave it at the door, suspecting it could be an explosive device.

Tatarsky and the woman apparently joked and laughed. Nastya reportedly then went to the door to get the bust and gave it to the blogger. Tatarsky allegedly placed the bust on a table nearby, and then there was an explosion. Smotrova said people were running in panic, some covered in blood from shattered glass.

According to Russia’s Interfax news agency, a St Petersburg woman, Darya Tryopova, was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the bombing. It said that she has been detained before for participating in anti-war rallies.

If the blogger was purposefully targeted, it would be the second assassination in Russia of a high-profile figure linked to the Ukraine war, as reported by Sky News. The first,Darya Dugina, was murdered in a car bombing in August 2022.

RIA Novosti said that Russian authorities have begun a criminal investigation into Tatarsky's death.

Read more:

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Who was responsible?

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the bombing in a Telegram post and suggested that Ukraine was to blame, writing:

Russian journalists are constantly experiencing death threats from the Kiev regime and its masterminds, which are increasingly being implemented. They are harassed, branded in the literal sense with special markings on the digital platforms of American Internet monopolies and arrange a "witch hunt" in the Western media.

However, Ukraine has denied involvement. Military analyst Sean Bell told Sky News that it 'looks really unlikely' that the Ukrainian army was responsible for the attack because it wasn't a military target.

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, suggested that a Russian was behind it, tweeting:

It begins in RF... Spiders are eating each other in a jar. Question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time, as breakthrough of ripe abscess. Irreversible processes and Troubles 2.0. await RF. While we will watch.

Sources used:

Independent: 'Russian pro-Putin blogger killed in St Petersburg cafe blast'

Sky News: 'Pro-war Russian blogger killed in blast after 'woman handed him exploding statuette''

Newsweek: 'Video Shows Moment Blast Kills Pro-Kremlin Propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky'