Assassinated Russian Blogger 'Wrote the Truth,' Says Top Putin Ally

Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who was assassinated in a St. Petersburg bombing on Sunday, was targeted because he "wrote the truth," according to a senior Moscow official and a top ally of President Vladimir Putin.

Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko—a Ukrainian-born official who has long been considered close to Putin—wrote on her Telegram channel on Monday that Tatarsky "became a target of our enemies" due to his military reporting, which was at times critical of the Kremlin's limited success in Ukraine.

Tatarsky, 40, was killed by an explosion that destroyed the Street Food Bar No. 1 restaurant in Russia's second city on Sunday. At least 32 others were wounded, of which 10 are in a serious condition, according to state media outlet RIA Novosti, which cited Health Ministry data.

Matviyenko was among those who paid tribute to the killed ideologue. "I read his posts," she wrote, as translated by the state-run Tass news agency. "Vladlen wrote the truth, wrote simply, brightly. That's why he became a target for our enemies, who are afraid of the strength of our spirit, our people's will."

"And Vladlen not only fought in the militia, gathered aid for our soldiers, but, most importantly, he formed the people's understanding of the special military operation. And, I'm sure, he did a lot for our future victory," the senator wrote, using the Kremlin's terminology for the 13-month-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast that killed Tatarsky—real-name Maxim Fomin—who was born in eastern Ukraine and has amassed more than 560,000 Telegram followers, making him one of the country's most influential bloggers. Tatarsky, like other bloggers, has at times been critical of Moscow's failure to defeat Ukraine's armed forces and had called for military escalation.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, suggested on Twitter that the explosion was a result of Russian infighting. "Spiders are eating each other in a jar," he wrote. "Question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time, as breakthrough of ripe abscess. Irreversible processes and Troubles 2.0. await [Russia]. While we will watch."

State media reports suggest that Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public in a pre-arranged event organized by the "Cyber Front Z" movement, a pro-war Telegram society. During the event, a woman reportedly handed the blogger a box containing a small statue. The statue later exploded, killing Tatarsky. Matviyenko described the attack as a "vile explosion."

Russia's Investigative Committee for St. Petersburg has opened a murder investigation. Russian law enforcement has arrested Daria Trepova, 26, on suspicion of being behind the plot.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee, the country's highest anti-terror body, said Monday blamed Ukrainian special services for the attack and said that Trepova was an "active supporter"

Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, said Russian authorities may use the allegations to extend Navalny's prison term and persecute his supporters.

Alex Kokcharov, a risk analyst specializing in Russia and Ukraine, told Newsweek he believes the Kremlin will look to leverage the latest attack to its own benefit.

"I think what the government or the security services will likely do, is they will use this as a justification for an increased level of repression against any political opposition within Russia," Kokcharov said.

The alleged link between Trepova and Navalny, Kokcharov said, appears "quite implausible," though he added this is unlikely to stop authorities playing up the accusation.

"The domestic political opposition, those who remain within Russia, this will make them much more vulnerable to arrest and prosecution," he said. "And those who have not left the country would probably have to flee the country."

Kokcharov also said he was skeptical of any supposed link between the attack and Ukraine's secret services. "It doesn't really make much sense to spend quite a lot of operational resources on conducting this attack, on a person who is of no significant importance in terms of military decision making in Russia," he said.

"They would be much more interested in attacking critical infrastructure, or critical manufacturing facilities, pipelines, fuel depots, oil refineries, or factories which produce dual use or military goods and equipment."

Tatarsky started his Telegram channel in 2019. Before that, he had spent time fighting for separatist pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine that have been in conflict with Kyiv since 2014. His influence grew after the February 24, 2022 full-scale invasion began, though Tatarsky at times was critical of Moscow's failure to achieve its war goals quickly.

Last week Tatarsky wrote on his Telegram channel of apparent systemic problems within the Russian military: "We need to change the system." In November, after the Russian retreat from Kherson, Tatarsky blamed "idiotic" war plans "based on disinformation."

Still, Tatarsky was known to be vehemently pro-war. He made headlines in September last year after posting a video from inside the Kremlin declaring: "We will defeat everyone, we will kill everyone, we will rob everyone as necessary. Just as we like it." Tatarsky was in Moscow then to attend a ceremony marking Putin's claimed annexation of four partially occupied Ukrainian regions.

The assassination is the second high-profile bomb attack against pro-Kremlin figures within Russia since February 24, 2022. In August last year, Darya Dugina—the daughter of influential ultra-nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin—was killed in a car bomb attack in Moscow's suburbs that the Kremlin blamed on Kyiv.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry to request comment.

4/3/2023 12:55 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from Alex Kokcharov.