The boss of Wagner Prigozhin, who is very close to Vladlen Tatarsky, takes the hand of the internal radical circles | The military point 416
The murder of Vladlen Tatarsky in St. Petersburg, like that of Alexander Dugin’s daughter. The same arena, the nationalist world. Same weapon, one device. The same perpetrator, a woman. However, everything is submerged in a swamp of uncertain truths. Whoever strikes, consciously hides behind his own smoke screen, but at the same time uses the advantages of the many versions.
The arrest of Darya Trepova, wife of an anti-war activist, was announced Sunday night after she was arrested for demonstrating against the invasion of Ukraine. the perfect profile to instantly frame the story and propel it into a marketable story. On Monday morning they corrected that she was wanted and eventually confirmed her capture. Meanwhile, the police searched the house and then interrogated the mother and sister looking for items. Moscow authorities believe the attack was prepared by the Ukrainian secret service, backed by sympathizers of opponent Alexei Navalny. Quick conclusion as usual, from a regime quick to offer a head to the public when embarrassed by a security breach. An attack on journalistic freedom, summed up the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, who has spent the past few days defending herself against allegations of the arrest of the American Wall Street Journal reporter.
The official investigation – for murder in a prominent manner – is based on testimonies matched with images from surveillance cameras. According to the first reconstruction, a girl appeared with a gift for the nationalist blogger: a Donbass-born ex-convict who enrolled in the pro-Russian militias in 2014 and became a citizen in 2021. Initially, the guards would have stopped her and told her to leave the package by the door and, according to Darya, even joked that it might contain a bomb. After a few jokes, she took the gift back and headed toward the briefing room where Tatarsky, whose real name was Maksim Fomin, 40, wanted to speak. A short video shows a young woman from behind, who quickly enters the room. Oddly enough, there are no controls at the entrance. Russian media reported that there had been threats against the victim in recent months. In another clip, we see a man handing the blogger a figurine, which he then places on a table, the possible gift trap that would have hidden about 200 grams of explosives. Finally the third clip with the explosion that smashed the windows: there would be 32 injured in total. Did those behind the attack know about the cameras? Didn’t they do any reconnaissance? Didn’t they care? The rapid identification of the suspected perpetrator is also thanks to the electronic eye.
Fearing possible searches, the attackers resorted to the small bust trick to camouflage the bomb. There is no shortage of examples in the Encyclopedia of Terror. Commander Massud, the lion of Panjshir, was assassinated in Afghanistan by a charge hidden on fake journalists’ cameras. In other episodes it was hidden in a copy of a holy book, in a turban, in a false prosthesis, under a sari, in a body’s cavity, in common objects like a guitar. And not infrequently it was women who performed the last act. Optionally, as part of a faction, but also unknowingly because they’re less searchable. However, in low-intensity conflicts, each hypothesis must be considered: the exploding package, the magnetic grenade under the car, the remotely detonated bomb during a reception.
Then there is a lot of attention to the political framework. Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private militia, confirmed that he owns the street food bar N 1 and handed it over to Cyber-Z extremists for numerous events. Putin’s chef also celebrated Tatarsky at Bakhmut’s and paid homage to him from the symbolic city, the scene of his mercenaries’ offensive. But instead of accusing Kiev of the assassination, he took over the hand of radical circles. However, Prigozhin must be followed day by day: he can say one thing and 24 hours later say the opposite. He has his own agenda, full of ambition but also less transparent games: he raises the tone, criticizes the generals, then steps back and starts over. The same role Tatarsky tried to play, sparing his half a million followers criticism of the Russian General Staff and President Putin.
Prigozhin’s words are useful for those who consider the attack on St. Petersburg as a moment of struggle in the extremist camp, those who want to smooth Ukraine even further, convinced that the army does not complete its mission to the end. Critical voices – constant and widespread – which are useful for maneuvers but do not always have a specific weight commensurate with the stakes. Tatarsky’s acknowledged connection to Prigozhin might make one think of a mafia warning: I’ll kill you to put you back in line and those who argue with you. It could have also applied to Darya Dugina, who was killed by a car bomb in a Moscow suburb in August, but the poisons certainly haven’t gone away since then. In fact, the tough and pure have upped the volume.
The existence of well-known conflicts under the walls of the Kremlin does not miss the Ukrainian lead, which the Moscow prosecutor’s office insists on. Kiev fights with all weapons, with infiltration and sabotage. It can take advantage of its own agents, Russians, fringe figures willing to act, dissidents, opaque figures who have already claimed operations. It takes away characters who, in word and deed, are trying to destroy a country. Ukraine takes no responsibility, it leaves others to question it, it moves by hiding behind the version of the feud, the explanation that the secret services usually turn to confuse and buy time. The spiders eat each other in the jar, commented Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelensky’s adviser. According to sources in Kiev, the bomb was not in the “bust”, but near the podium, and this should lead the investigation elsewhere.
There is always a plan B, attribution to elements beyond control, as in the Nord Stream intrigue. Meanwhile, Kiev found an unexpected defender in Evgeny Prigozhin. For now, if he hasn’t blamed Zelenskyy’s agents and invited them to look at the house, it could mean two things: either he has a good idea who might have done it, or he has an interest in diverting attention from the enemy. The Kremlin, on the other hand, awarded Tatarsky a medal for bravery, a posthumous recognition in a patriotic tone.
April 3, 2023 (change April 3, 2023 | 21:04)
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