Killing of pro-Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky is likely being used for propaganda purposes by Kremlin – Steve Cardownie

Who had most to gain from the killing of the pro-Russian invasion blogger, Maksim Fomin, known by his pen name, Vladlen Tatarsky, in Saint Petersburg, last Sunday?

A young woman, Daria Trepova, has been charged with terrorism in connection with the bomb blast that killed Tatarsky, but after presenting him with a statuette of himself, she can be seen on video sitting down next to where it was placed – a reckless act to say the least if she knew it contained an explosive device likely to go off any second.

In addition, after the explosion, she can be seen walking out the club where Tatarsky had been giving a talk, stopping and talking to people, not beating a hasty retreat which might have been expected had she wittingly given him a bomb. Despite her anti-war stance, it is more likely, as she has reputed to have said to a friend soon after the explosion, that she was “set up”.

Unsurprisingly, the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee has claimed Ukrainian special services collaborated with the Anti-Corruption Fund, which is funded by opposition figure Alexei Navalny (who is currently imprisoned in a Russian jail) to plan the attack – conveniently diverting attention from Russian casualty numbers in Ukraine, stoking any anti-Ukraine sentiment, and pointing the finger at internal opposition activists. The New York Times reported that the arrest “could presage a heavier crackdown on anti-war Russians”.

It may well be some time before “the truth will out”, if indeed it ever does, but Russia’s rush to pin the blame on Ukrainian special forces should be seen for what it probably is: no more than the exploitation of an unexpected propaganda tool.