The curious case of Daria Dugina’s automobile bomb assassination

Saturday evening, 29-year-old Daria Dugina received into her Toyota Land Cruiser someplace within the outskirts of Moscow. Seconds later, all that remained was burning rubber and metal, the results of a bomb planted beneath her seat. Some studies claimed that safety cameras pointing on the website of the bombing had all been disabled for 2 weeks. Even when a few of these particulars have been flawed or exaggerated, it was clearly an expert hit job.

Dugina was the daughter of Alexander Dugin—a ultra-nationalist nut who has written a sequence of books demanding Russia reassert historic territorial management from Finland and the “Slavic” European nations (as far west as Greece), all the way in which to Mongolia and northern China, and right down to the Indian Ocean. His daughter was following in her father’s footsteps. In actual fact, she had simply had an look on state TV on Thursday:

Western media information studies dubbed Alexander Dugin “Putin’s mind,” portray him half Rasputin, half Karl Rove. CNN referred to as him Putin’s “non secular information.” The New York Instances referred to Daria as “daughter of a Putin ally.” 

In the meantime, modern-day Kremlinologists—students and journalists finding out and overlaying up to date Russian politics—scoffed on the characterization. 

By some indications, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin thought of Dugin a serious irritant. He was fired from his educating publish at Moscow State College in 2014 for being too genocidal in Russia’s first Ukrainian invasion. And after being a frequent visitor on Russian state TV supporting Russia’s annexation of Crimea, he fell out of favor after criticizing Putin for not taking extra of Ukraine on the time. (The principles are clear—the army may be criticized from proper, however by no means Putin himself.)

Within the late 90s he wrote a e book proposing taking Tibet, Inside Manchuria, Xinjiang and different elements of Northern China, compensating them with a lot of southeastern Asia (apart from Vietnam, for some cause), the Philippines, and Australia. The Chinese language weren’t amused, as you may think, and the Kremlin was pressured to distance itself from Dugin. (This Twitter thread digs into the e book’s maps. His foremost software for European and Asian domination? Not army pressure, however vitality blackmail. Perhaps Putin learn that chapter.)

So no, Dugin wasn’t Putin’s “mind” or “shut ally” or “Rasputin” or no matter else has been written. He was an ultranationalist crank who dreamed of an expanded Russian empire with zero hopes that any of it could ever be a actuality. It was sheer insanity. 

Some sources, nonetheless making an attempt to make Dugin sound notably vital, declare his e book was “influential” inside Russian circles. Apart from the shortage of actual sourcing, so far as I can inform, how influential may a e book about world conquest be with Russia’s army institution, in the event that they didn’t trouble sustaining tools at requirements able to truly conquering something? 

Nonetheless, none of that is useful in figuring out why and by whom Dugina was assassinated. Russia has launched an “investigation,” however nobody is taking that critically.

Some unanswered questions: 

Who was the precise goal, Dugin or Dugina? Some declare it should’ve been the previous, as a result of why would somebody assassinate a 29-year-old, when her father was the true lightning rod? But different studies declare the automobile was registered to Dugina. Truthfully, unsure we will belief something popping out of Russia proper now.  
No, Ukraine wasn’t concerned. Russia’s propagandists instantly pointed their fingers at Ukraine, completely satisfied to gin up outrage and help for additional escalation in Russia’s brutal, murderous invasion. But none of that is smart. If Ukraine had that sort of murderous capability, there are higher targets than a younger wannabe fascist. For instance, Russian command and management—generals and different prime army leaders. There’s no tactical or strategic acquire in assassinating Dugina, and for good measure, Ukraine firmly denied any involvement—a stark departure from the wink-wink “denials” of assaults on infrastructure on Russian soil.  
Was Putin concerned? There’s a lengthy historical past of Putin offing enemies … and pals, if it serves a broader objective in his Machiavellian machinations. Heck, it may even be a false flag operation to spark outrage amongst Russian residents, creating area for mass mobilization or different escalatory measures.  
Did Dugina make her personal enemies? One Russian journalist wrote, “Dugina was concerned within the theft of cash that the Kremlin allotted to finance the election marketing campaign in France – Le Pen. The cash by no means reached Marine. The identical factor occurred with European anti-globalists. The woman is a rat. However they wished to take away the daughter and father.” Once more, not a whole lot of affirmation. But when true, that might piss off the FSB, the Russian intelligence company tasked with Worldwide ratfuckery, and it could piss off mafioso-style European far-right Nazis. Neither is a good enemy to have. 

So plenty of theories, and nil proof for any of them, with little probability of an actual investigation that might give us some solutions. And since that wasn’t complicated sufficient, this season is now take a look at advertising the introduction of a wholly new character: 

There’s supposedly a resistance motion inside Russia? That might be welcome information! However don’t get hooked up to that story line. It received’t go far. Certain, it could be a handy clarification for all of the “smoking accidents” at Russian industrial and army websites. However one man, claiming to be the only real conduit of knowledge from this secretive new armed Russian insurgency is … it’s simply not credible. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, and we’re nowhere close to having the ability to see any proof in any respect. 

However hey, if it’s between a bullshit “Ukraine did it” and an equally bullshit “armed Russian insurgents did it” narrative, the latter is much less internationally flammable. 

Occam’s razor says that each one issues being equal, the easier clarification is mostly higher than extra complicated ones. On this case, we all know Russia is a mafia oligarchy state. Easiest clarification is that an formidable and grasping Dugina stepped on some toes, and the oligarchy mafia or FSB responded in type. 

One final word—Dugina’s assassination has hit the Russian non-ruling elites laborious, no matter whether or not they’re pro- or anti-Putin. This thread explains that in the long run, the oligarchy thrives on private connections, not ideology. 

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