According to authorities, the death of Vladlen Tatarsky, a Russian military blogger and vociferous backer of Russia’s war in Ukraine, is being probed as a “high-profile murder.” Tatarsky was killed in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg on Sunday evening. Social media videos showed a bomb and injured individuals on the street. It was unclear who was behind the attack, but Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak blamed it on a Russian “internal political war.” The Russian Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into a “high-profile murder.”
When the device went off, Tatarsky was a guest speaker at an event held by the cafe. The explosive device has been the subject of conflicting reports in Russian media. Tatarsky was given a statue in a box with a bomb buried within, according to official sources published by Russian state media. After the blast, a video circulated on Telegram showing him being handed a statue and making jokes about it.
Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky had over 500,000 followers on Telegram
Tatarsky had over 500,000 Telegram followers, where he and other military bloggers condemned portions of Russia’s campaign in Ukraine. Tatarsky, unlike many other Russian military bloggers and state media journalists in Ukraine, participated in combat operations. He had reported from the front lines in Ukraine and rose to prominence last year after posting a video taken inside the Kremlin in which he said: “We will defeat everyone, we will kill everyone, we will rob everyone as necessary. Just as we like it.”
According to the St. Petersburg news site Fontanka, the cafe targeted on Sunday was previously owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the commander of Russia’s renowned Wagner mercenary outfit. Tatarsky joined Russian rebel forces in 2014 after they took control of the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of eastern Ukraine. He claimed to have helped launch combat drones and build fortifications.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Tatarsky was “dangerous” for Ukraine “but bravely went on until the end, fulfilling his duty.” Writing on Telegram, she also condemned Western governments for failing to react to the attack. “The reaction in Kyiv is striking, where those who receive Western grants are in no way concealing their delight at what has happened,” Zakharova said.
Investigation into the “high-profile murder” of Tatarsky suggests a link to Russian political infighting
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak claimed Russian political infighting was on the rise, adding the deadly explosion showed domestic terrorism was breaking out. Last August, Mr. Podolyak dismissed Russian allegations of Ukrainian involvement in the assassination of Darya Dugina, a journalist and prominent supporter of the Russian military, who was killed in a car bomb attack near Moscow.
