Daughter of Putin ally killed in car explosion

The daughter of an ally to Vladimir Putin has been killed in a suspected car bomb attack, according to the Russian state Investigation Committee.

Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian ultra-nationalist and philosopher Alexander Dugin, had been driving a Toyota Land Cruiser on 20 August when it exploded and caught on fire.

Officials in the country have alleged that an explosive device had been fitted to the car, which belonged to her father, who is an ally to the Russian president and often referred to as 'Putin's brain'.

It's believed that he may have been the intended target of the attack, although this has not been confirmed.

Channel One Russia

In a statement shared by state news agency Tass, the Russian Investigative Committee in the Moscow region said: "According to investigators, on 20 August around 21:00 in the Odintsovo urban district near the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy, an explosive device, presumably installed in the Toyota Land Cruiser, went off on a public road and the car caught fire.

"The female driver died at the scene. We established the identity of the deceased: it is journalist and political analyst Darya Dugina.

"Based on the results of the inspection, a number of examinations will be appointed, including forensic, explosive engineering and molecular-genetic. All possible versions of the crime are being probed into."

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Andrey Krasnov, head of the Russian Horizon social movement and friend to Dugina, told Tass that she had been driving from the Traditional festival, which is described as a family event for art fans.

"I knew Darya personally," he said. "This was the father’s vehicle. Darya was driving another car but she took his car today, while Alexander went in a different way. He returned, he was at the site of the tragedy."

Krasnov added: "As far as I understand, Alexander or probably they together were the target."

Dugina was born in 1992, and had a PhD, having graduated from the Philosophy Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Her father's political philosophies have long been regarded as a key influence on Putin's strategies.

According to Will Vernon, senior journalist for BBC News Moscow, while Dugin is not a state official, he is a 'symbolic figure' in Russian politics.

Russian Government/Alamy Stock Photo

Vernon said: "His anti-Western, ultranationalist philosophy has become the dominant political ideology in Russia and has helped shape President Putin's expansionist foreign policy, most prominently on Ukraine."

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