Russian state investigators said Daria Dugina, daughter of ideologue Alexander Dugin, was killed after a suspected explosive device detonated in the Toyota Land Cruiser she was traveling in on Saturday night. State news agency TASS quoted Andrei Krasnov, who knew Ms Dugina, as saying the vehicle belonged to her father and that he was likely the intended target. Father and daughter were attending a festival outside Moscow and Ms Dugin decided to change cars at the last minute, Russian state-run newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported. Television footage accompanying the statement showed investigators picking up debris and shrapnel from the blast site. Investigators from the Moscow region who described Darya Dugina as a journalist and political expert said they had opened a murder case. They said they would carry out forensic tests to find out what happened. Investigators said they were looking at “all versions” when it came to finding who was responsible for the crime. Image: Investigators work at the scene of a suspected car bomb attack Ms. Dugina’s father, Alexander Dugin, has long called for the unification of Russian-speaking and other territories into a vast new Russian empire. He wants the empire to include Ukraine, where Russian forces are currently conducting what President Putin calls a “special military operation” to demilitarize the country. Some Russia watchers have argued that Mr. Dugin’s influence on Mr. Putin is significant, while others have argued that it is minimal. Mr. Dugin is under US sanctions. Ms Dugina, who also went by the name Platonova and was reported by Russian state media to be 30 years old, has largely supported her father’s ideas. He has appeared on state television to offer support for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
