Well-known Russian military journalist Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and 16 other people were injured in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg today (Sunday) in what appears to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine.
The Russian Interior Ministry confirmed the death of Tatarsky, considered a staunch supporter of Putin, and said 19 people were injured. It was also reported that the explosion was caused by an explosive device and that there was no indication of who was behind the placement of the device. Russia’s State Investigative Committee has opened a murder investigation. Watch the moments of the explosion:
Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Pomin, had a channel with more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who supported Russia’s war in Ukraine, often criticizing the failures of the military elite.
Among other things, Tatarsky was among the hundreds of participants who were invited to the Kremlin’s magnificent ceremony last September to announce the annexation of the regions in Ukraine to Russia.
Russian military journalist Vladlen Tatarsky (Photo: Reuters)
According to some reports, an anonymous source said that the improvised explosive device was hidden in a miniature statue given to Tatarsky when he addressed a group of people in the cafe. A video was published on the networks in which Tatarsky can be seen, with a microphone in hand, receiving a statuette of a soldier wearing a helmet. The explosion was said to have occurred minutes later.
Russia’s war bloggers, a selection of independent military correspondents and commentators with a military background, reacted with shock to the news of Tatarsky’s death. “He was in the hottest places of the special military operation and he always came out alive. But the war found him in a cafe in St. Petersburg,” said Semyon Pegov, the blogger named War Gonzo.
Alexander Khodkovsky, a leading pro-Moscow figure in eastern Ukraine, wrote: “Max, if you were anyone, you would have died of ‘vodka and a cold’. But you were dangerous to them, you did your business like no one else could. We will pray for you, brother.”
A St. Petersburg website noted that the explosion occurred in a cafe formerly owned by Livni Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner’s private army fighting for Russia in Ukraine. Commentator Yair Navot noted on Twitter that this is an important detail that could point to the person behind the assassination.
“In recent weeks, Prigozhin’s relationship with the Russian Ministry of Defense has come to a screeching halt, partly due to the harsh public criticism he leveled at the Russian army and its performance on the battlefield, and his claims that the Russian Ministry of Defense has stopped supplying him with ammunition and equipment that he needs to continue fighting in the East.” .
“Tatersky himself was a kind of sounding board for Prigozhin’s criticism, and he often himself harshly criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense and the quality of the Russian army’s performance, even from the panicked retreats in the face of the Ukrainian counterattacks last fall. Putin was furious with Prigozhin for his harsh public criticism Against the Russian army and its performance, he began the process of harming it and excluding it from the decision-making process, and even “drying up” its forces. Prigozhin himself did not remain silent, of course, and sharpened his critical tone against the Ministry of Defense and the army.”
“Why is this important? Because language may be the key to the question of who is behind Tatarsky’s assassination – the option that Ukraine is behind him exists, but the probability is very low, for many reasons. There is a much higher probability that Tatarsky was actually eliminated as a warning to Prigozhin himself, and due to the consistent criticism And his venom against the Ministry of Defense and the Russian army. If this is indeed the case, then we are witnessing internal power struggles surrounding the war in Ukraine, and President Putin is watching over all of them, encouraging the internal forces against each other. The main thing is that they do not turn against him.”
If Tatarsky was the target of a targeted assassination, it would be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure connected to the war in Ukraine. As you may recall, Russia’s Federal Security Service accused Ukraine’s secret services last August of killing Daria Dogina, the daughter of an ultra-nationalist Russian politician, in a car bomb attack near Moscow that President Vladimir Putin called “evil.” Ukraine has denied involvement.