Russian military blogger killed in explosion in St Petersburg, media report By Reuters

On Sunday, Russian military blogger Maxim Fomin, known by his pen name Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in a blast at a café in St Petersburg, which sources said was caused by an explosive device. Fomin had over 560,000 followers and was one of the best known Russian military bloggers, offering a critical commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine. He attended a Kremlin ceremony in September to proclaim Russia’s annexation of four partly occupied regions of Ukraine, a move most UN countries considered illegal. The blast occurred at a café once owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private army fighting for Russia in Ukraine, and six others were injured in the silence.

Though there was no indication of who was responsible, Tatarsky’s death would be the second assassination in Russia of someone connected to the war in Ukraine. Last August, Darya Dugina, daughter of an ultra-nationalist, was killed in a car bomb attack outside Moscow which Russia’s Federal Security Service accused of being carried out by Ukrainian secret services. Ukraine denied any involvement.

Tatarsky’s death comes amid heightened criticism by Russian bloggers of the country’s military personnel in Ukraine. For several weeks there have been allegations that St Petersburg mobile rocket-launchers have been massing near their deployment zones in southern Russia. Bloggers have offered speculation that a new phase of the war in Ukraine could be imminent, and speak of possible attempts to evacuate those fighting in the region.

Criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy continues to increase. In recent months, there have been allegations of Russian interference in the US elections, and a Dutch-led joint investigation team into the downing of a malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine claimed that the missile had been provided by Russia. However, Tatarsky’s killing is reportedly the first politically motivated assassination since the murder of Boris Nemtsov in February 2015. Nemtsov was a critic of Putin and an opposition leader, whose death went unsolved. Though Tatarsky did not have a high political profile, his criticisms of Russia’s military actions in Ukraine were influential in the country.



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