Daria, 26, is singled out as the bombshell in the cafe

Saint Petersburg

Woman arrested for murder of military blogger 

 

Of:  

 

Amanda Hällsten 

 

Published: Today 09.21  

Updated: Less than 2 hours ago  

 

NEWS  

 

A woman handed over a statuette to military blogger Vladlen Tatarskij at the cafe in Saint Petersburg.  

 

Then it blew up.  

 

Now the anti-war protester Daria Trepova, 26, is singled out as a suspect in the crime.  

 

Shortly after 6 p.m. local time on Sunday, the explosion occurred at the café in central Saint Petersburg, Russia. 

 

Military blogger Vladlen Tatarskij had booked the venue to hold an event advertised as open to the public.  

 

According to the American think tank ISW, he belongs to the Russian ultra-nationalist movement "Kiber Front Z".  

 

About 100 people were in the cafe when a woman, who allegedly called herself Nastya and introduced herself as a sculptor, approached Vladlen Tatarsky and handed over a statue. 

 

A few minutes later it exploded.  

 

Vladlen Tatarsky died and up to 30 people were injured.  

 

Vladlen Tatarsky just before the explosion. Photo: AP 

 

Task: Woman arrested 

 

The cafe is owned by the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin. According to The Moscow Times , military-themed public meetings are regularly held there.  

 

A total of around 100 people are said to have been in the premises when the explosion occurred. According to witnesses on the spot, there were no guards at the entrance to the cafe, and the visitors who came there were not checked at the entrance either. 

 

Sources at the Russian Ministry of the Interior state that the explosive may have been triggered remotely.  

 

During the morning there were various reports as to whether anyone had been arrested for the crime or not.  

 

Now Russian state media are writing that Daria Trepova, a resident of Saint Petersburg, has been arrested as a suspect in the explosion. 

 

She is said to have previously been arrested in February 2022 on suspicion of anti-war protests. At the same time, Russian officials have also accused Ukraine of being behind the murder, which they call a "terrorist attack". Action at the scene after the explosion. 

 

Action at the scene after the explosion. Photo: AP  

 

Information: The murder plans were known  

 

Vladlen Tatarskij had over 560,000 followers on Telegram. He has openly supported Russia's war in Ukraine and also reported from the front line. He was openly associated with the Wagner group. 

 

In the past, he has also led several impeachment campaigns, promoted violent militarism, and supported Putin's ideology and goals to "denazify" and "demilitarize" Ukraine.  

 

Reuters describes him as one of Russia's most influential bloggers.  

 

But according to ISW, sources from the Russian Ministry of the Interior state that the Russian intelligence service knew about the plans to assassinate him. 

 

Escalating internal conflict  

 

ISW also writes that the murder of Vladlen Tatarskij is likely part of the escalating internal conflict in Russia, involving Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner group. 

 

Vladlen Tatarskij had earlier in the day participated in another event without incident.  

 

According to ISW, it indicates that the attack on the cafe was also aimed at Yevgeny Prigozhin. Some Russian political analysts have also speculated whether Prigozhin was also intended to attend the event where the explosion occurred.