Darya Dugina, 29, the daughter of Alexander Dugin, the controversial Russian Eurasianist philosopher and political figure with international synarchist links, was killed on Aug. 20 on a highway near Moscow, when her car exploded as she was driving home from an event on “Tradition” that her father addressed. According to initial reports by TASS, Alexander Dugin, 60, was supposed to be in the vehicle as well, which belonged to him, but he changed his mind at the last moment and took a different car.
Denis Pushilin, the leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic, immediately blamed Ukraine; Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, promptly denied any responsibility. Regardless, Russian analysts and media commentators are by and large blaming Ukraine for the targeted hit, noting that Darya Dugina herself was a prominent journalist who joined her father in vocally supporting Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.