Darya Dugina: Daughter of Putin ally killed in Moscow bomb - report

 

The daughter of a close ally to Russia's President Vladimir Putin has reportedly been killed near Moscow.

According to state media, Darya Dugina died after her car exploded in flames while she was driving home.

It is thought that her father, the Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin who is known as "Putin's brain," may have been the intended target of the attack.

Mr Dugin is a prominent ultra-nationalist ideologue who is believed to be close to the Russian president.

According to Russian media outlet 112, the pair were due to travel back from an event on Saturday evening in the same car before Mr Dugin made the decision to travel separately from his daughter at the last minute.

Unverified footage posted on Telegram appears to show Mr Dugin watching in shock as emergency services arrive at the scene of the burning wreck of a vehicle.

The BBC has not been able to verify the footage independently.

Law enforcement agencies confirmed to Tass news agency that a female driver died when an SUV exploded in the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy, but provided no further details.

There has been no official comment from Russian authorities so far.

Despite not holding an official position in government, Ms Dugina's father is a close ally of the Russian president and has even been branded "Putin's Rasputin".

The philosopher's daughter, Darya Dugina, was herself a prominent journalist who vocally supported the invasion of Ukraine.  

Earlier this year she was sanctioned by US and UK authorities, who accused the 30-year-old of contributing to online "disinformation" in relation to Russia's invasion.

In May, she described the war as a "clash of civilisations" in an interview and expressed pride in the fact that both she and her father had been sanctioned by the West.

Alexander Dugin was sanctioned by the US in 2015 for his alleged involvement in the Russian annexation of Crimea.

His writings are credited with having a deep influence on Vladimir Putin's worldview and he is considered to be a chief intellectual architect of the ultra-nationalist ideology adhered to by many in the Kremlin.

For years, Mr Dugin has called on Moscow to assert itself more aggressively on the global stage and has supported Russian military action in Ukraine.  

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62621509   

Alexander Dugin wants Mr Putin to intervene militarily in eastern Ukraine