In Moscow, the hawks were quick to react, calling in barely covered words on the Kremlin to harden its reaction vis-à-vis kyiv, including on the military front. “We are dealing with terrorists. Behind whom are the terroristsdeclared Vladimir Solovyov, one of the main voices of propaganda in the service of the regime of President Vladimir Putin. We must understand that we have a vile, cynical and ruthless enemy. Today we do not need words, but deeds. »
Back from the “Tradition” festival
These kinds of statements, with kyiv in the crosshairs, multiplied on Saturday evening shortly after the news of the assassination of Daria Duguina, the daughter of one of the main Kremlin ideologues, Alexander Dugin. They had just attended the “Tradition” festival, about forty kilometers from the capital, where the thinker had given a lecture. This literary, musical but also political gathering invites every summer some of the greatest nationalist and conservative figures, whose influence has continued to grow in recent years on Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin.
Orthodox and defender of the “eurasist” doctrine, an alliance between Europe and Asia under Russian leadership, Alexander Dougin, 60, has often been presented as the president’s “favorite thinker”. Close to the ideas of her father, herself a journalist and political scientist, Daria Douguina, 30, regularly participated in television programs for channels under Kremlin control.
Both supported the “special military operation” in Ukraine, according to the Kremlin understatement. But, on Saturday evening, the attack seemed to target Alexandre Douguine and not his daughter. At the last minute, they had swapped cars. It was therefore Daria Douguina who was driving her father’s Toyota Land Cruiser when the car exploded. “Everything suggests that the crime was planned in advance and ordered”, underlines the investigation committee, in charge of the main criminal investigations in Russia. He claims that an explosive device was placed under the floor of the car. The vehicle had been parked in a parking lot without specific control or surveillance.
Close to far-right European circles
The alleged assassination has not been claimed. “The terrorists of the Ukrainian regime tried to liquidate Alexander Dugin, but they blew up his daughter”, accused Denis Pushilin, the leader of the People’s Republic of Donetsk (DNR), proclaimed by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Zakhar Prilepin, a writer and other nationalist figure, accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of having “given the green light” to assassination. After losing one of its own, the conservative camp could push the Kremlin to radicalization.
Although, according to some observers, his influence has diminished in recent months, Alexander Dugin is considered the theoretician of the “special military operation” in Ukraine. Close to far-right European circles, targeted by American sanctions since 2014, following the annexation of Crimea by Russia, Alexander Dougin has long pleaded for the conquest by Moscow of other Ukrainian territories. And even beyond, with a view to the reconstitution of a new empire aimed at uniting the regions, Russian or not, bringing together Russian-speaking populations.