Gözde Bayar of Anadolu Agency reported that a car belonging to Darya Dugina, the daughter of renowned Russian political theorist Alexander Dugin, exploded on the night of August 20, 2022.
Dugina’s vehicle blew up on Mozhayskoye highway in Moscow around 9:45 p.m. local time.
Initial reports said Dugina was immediately killed. Alexander Dugin, himself, arrived on the scene in a clear state of astonishment. Thus far, there is no official confirmation about the cause of the explosion.
There has been speculation that the explosion was part of an assassination attempt targeting her father, who many Western observers believe functions as an eminence grise to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Dugin is an outspoken proponent of Eurasianism, a Russian political movement that argues Russia is a unique civilization that does not exclusively belong in “Asian” or “European” civilizational spheres. This movement is hostile towards the Collective West, given how it perceives institutions like NATO as vehicles for heightened encroachment on Russia’s historical sphere of influence.
Dugina followed in her father’s footsteps by pursuing a career in philosophy, political science, and political commentary.
The daughter of the pro-Eurasian geopolitical strategist was a strong supporter of Putin’s government and the Russian government’s special military operation in Ukraine. She viewed it as a justified retaliation against Western expansion into Russia’s historical sphere of influence.
According to a ZeroHedge report, Dugin and his daughter were both sanctioned by the US government in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s military incursion into Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Dugina herself was sanctioned due to her role as chief editor of the political website United World International.
If assassination allegations prove to be true, this would be the highest profile assassination to be carried out during the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Should the Ukrainian state be implicated in this assassination, the Russian Federation will likely use this incident to justify stronger military action in Ukraine.
In light of this incident, the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has only gotten more heated as a result of Dugina’s death.