A former member of Russia’s parliament says a previously unknown anti-Putin partisan group has claimed responsibility for the car bomb which killed the daughter of one of Vladimir Putin’s close political allies.
The explosion on Saturday evening killed Darya Dugina, 30, the daughter of Russian political commentator and far-right ideologue Alexandr Dugin.
For additional background see Mark Lippman’s DK post: Report: Car bomb kills Alexandr Dugin’s daughter near Moscow.
The claim was made by Ilya Ponomarev, a former left-wing member of Russia’s Duma who was expelled for anti-Kremlin activities, The Guardian reported.
The Guardian said it has not been able to verify the authenticity of Ponomarev’s claims.
Ponomarev was barred from re-entering Russia while he was on a trip to the U.S. He became a Ukrainian citizen in 2019 and is now based in Kyiv. Ponomarev was the only Duma member to vote against Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
In March, after the invasion of Ukraine, he launched a Russian-language opposition TV channel February Morning and Rozpartisan, a Telegram channel which gives news updates of anti-war actions inside Russia.
The Guardian said that Ponomarev alleged the explosion was the work of the National Republican Army (NRA), which he said was an underground group inside Russia dedicated to overthrowing the Putin regime.
The Guardian quoted Ponomarev as saying:
“This action, like many other partisan actions carried out on the territory of Russia in recent months, was carried out by the National Republican Army (NRA),” Ponomarev said. He was speaking in a 7pm broadcast on February Morning..
He added: “A momentous event took place near Moscow last night. This attack opens a new page in Russian resistance to Putinism. New – but not the last.”
Ponomarev said partisans inside Russia were ready to conduct further similar attacks against high-profile Kremlin-connected targets, including officials, oligarchs and members of Russia’s security agencies.
Ponomarev read what he claimed was an NRA manifesto:
“We declare President Putin a usurper of power and a war criminal who amended the Constitution, unleashed a fratricidal war between the Slavic peoples and sent Russian soldiers to certain and senseless death.
“Poverty and coffins for some, palaces for others – the essence of his policy. We believe that disenfranchised people have the right to rebel against tyrants. Putin will be deposed and destroyed by us!”
In an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Ponomarev claimed that the NRA had authorized him to read the group’s manifesto. He said that he has been "in touch" with members of the organization since April 2022.
"We are actively helping [the NRA] in various ways," he added.
There have been reports of mysterious explosions and fires that have occurred inside Russia since the Feb. 24 invasion, including arson attacks on military recruitment offices, oil depots, defense research institutes and chemical plants.
But this is apparently the first time that any Russian underground organization has claimed responsibility for an attack.
The alleged RNA manifesto claimed that its targets would include Putin’s “accomplices” in government and regional administrations, corrupt businessmen, and military cargoes. The NRA said it would not target civilians.
The manifesto said Daria Dugina was a legitimate target because she was a “faithful companion” to her father, who supported genocide in Ukraine. “She was a voice calling for violence and murder” in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, it stated, according to The Guardian.
Russian propagandists have blamed Ukraine for the bombing that killed Dugina. The Kyiv government has denied any involvement.
Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the state-funded RT television station, issued a call on the pro-Kremlin television station Tsargrad, on Telegram demanding strikes on the headquarters of Ukraine’s intelligence agency and other government buildings in Kyiv in response to Dugina’s killing, Ukrainskaya Pravda reported.
"Decision-making centers! Decision-making centers! Decision-making centers!" Simonyan said,
.