On Saturday (August 20) night, a 30-year-old political scientist Darya Dugina was killed in a massive explosion near Bolshiye Vyazemy village, located on the outskirts of Moscow.
As per reports, she was seated in a Toyota Land Cruiser at around 9:00 pm (local time) when an explosive device, planted in the SUV, went off. The car immediately caught fire and exploded in flames.
Darya Dugina was the daughter of Russian political commentator and Putin’s aide, Alexander Dugin. It is speculated that the intended target was the deceased’s father. Nonetheless, the investigators have opened a murder case and are now probing all aspects.
Alexander Dugin, Russian Mastermind behind Russia’s annexation of Crimea, AKA “Putin’s brains”, at the scene where his daughter, Dariya Dugin, was killed when her car exploded. Most likely from an assassination attempt that meant to target Dugin himself. pic.twitter.com/jCnVfJ6jAr
— Sergiy Slipchenko (@SergSlip1) August 20, 2022
A family friend of Darya Dugina, Andrey Krasnov, informed that the car belonged to Alexander Dugin. He stated the father-daughter duo were supposed to travel together but Alexander Dugin changed plans at the last minute.
He further added, “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. As far as I understand, Alexander or probably they together were the target.”
While pro-Kremlin officials have pinned the blame on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s senior advisor Mykhailo Podolyak has dismissed all charges. “Ukraine has absolutely nothing to do with this, because we are not a criminal state like Russia, or a terrorist one at that,” he remarked.
Alexander Dugin: The Philosophical influence behind Russian invasions
Alexander Dugin, the father of deceased Darya Dugina, was dubbed as ‘Putin’s brain’ and the ‘philosophical influence’ behind the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.
He has also been regarded as the de-facto brain behind the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Dugin served as the former Chief Editor of Tsargrad TV and currently holds no formal position within the Russian government.
Described as a hyper-nationalist, he has called for the unification of all Russian Speaking territories under one ‘new Russian Empire.’ Dugin believes that the ongoing war is a special military operation, which is meant to demilitarise Ukraine.
He was sanctioned in 2015 by the United States for allegedly being “complicit in policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Alexander Dugin was reportedly involved in recruiting insurgents in Donetsk during his tenure as the Eurasian Youth Union leader. He also controls Russian nationalist news media, Geopolitika. His influence in the Russian government has been the subject of immense speculation.
“For anyone who has read Dugin, the echoes of his thought in Putin’s recent speeches about Russia’s supposedly proper place in the world have been unmistakable, and uncanny,” read a report in Washington Post.
“Russia is not at war with Ukraine, it is driving the devil out of Ukraine, this is a geopolitical exorcism.”
— Alexander Dugin (International) | Z (@Agdchan) June 8, 2022
— Alexander Duginhttps://t.co/dLaLCRJX89 pic.twitter.com/ixpsjOpDOx
“Reading Dugin’s work broadly, his goals are straightforward: the restoration of a powerful, authoritarian Russian state and the internal dissolution of Russia’s enemies, particularly the liberal West,” the article further added.
Alexander Dugin is the author of “The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia,” wherein he outlined ways on how to deal with the West.
Darya Dugina: Advocate of Eurasian hegemony over Western globalism
In an interview with Geopolitika in March this year, Darya Dugina described herself as an expert in international relations and a political observer of the International Eurasianist Movement. She also claimed to have appeared on Pakistani and Indian TV channels as a European geopolitical analyst.
When quizzed about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the political scientist dubbed it as a ‘clash of globalist and Eurasian civilisation.’ She had said, “The West’s unanimous support for Ukraine in 2022, the supply of weapons on an unthinkable scale: it all feels like agony. The agony of a globalist regime that is beginning to lose ground to multipolarism.”
Darya Dugina squarely blamed the United States for provoking the entire conflict and lamented how most of Europe had taken sides instead of being neutral. She also alleged that Western sanctions have not affected the Russian economy and had instead hit European nations hard.
She further added that instead of being isolated, Russia has emerged as a pioneer of ‘multipolar world order.’ Dugina emphasised, “As for the reaction of the Russians, the overwhelming majority supports the special military operation (Ukraine invasion).”
She pointed out, “In their eyes, it is an understandable defence of Russia’s geopolitical interests and a fight against Russophobia, because a regime has been formed in Kiev that denies Russians the right to self-determination (language, culture, identity) and existence.
While speaking about her lineage, Darya Dugina said, “The fact that we are under sanctions by the US, Canada, Australia and the UK is also a symbol that we Dugin are on the path of truth in the fight against globalism. Therefore, I would say it is an honour to be born into such a family.”
In a press release on March 3, 2022, the US Department of The Treasury accused the political scientist of spreading disinformation against the West. It claimed that Dugina was the Chief Editor of the United World International (UWI) website.
“In 2022, UWI suggested that Ukraine would “perish” if it is admitted to NATO…UWI’s chief editor, Darya Aleksandrovna Dugina (Dugina), sought contributors to write articles on UWI,” it stated.
“Dugina is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661, E.O. 13694, as amended, and E.O. 13848, for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, UWI,” the press release emphasised.
Darya Dugina was thus sanctioned by both the US and UK , with the latter labelling her as a “high-profile contributor of disinformation” about Russian-Ukraine war.
