Vladlen Tatarsky, a prominent Russian military blogger, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in St Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday. The city’s governor said that 25 people were injured in the blast, of whom 19 had to be hospitalized. It is not clear if Tatarsky was the target of the blast.
“Today, an unknown explosive device exploded in a cafe in the center of St. Petersburg. According to preliminary data, as a result of this, a military blogger, known as Vladlen Tatarskiy, died, and 19 people were also injured of varying severity,” Russia’s Investigative Committee for St. Petersburg said in a statement.
Who was Vladlen Tatarsky a.k.a Maxim Fomin?
Vladlen Tatarsky was a Russian blogger known for providing analysis and commentary on Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. His real name was Maxin Fomin but he gained fame as Vladlen Tatarsky through his Telegram channel, created in 2019. He adopted the name in honor of the protagonist of Victor Pelevin’s novel Generation P. He has also written several books.
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A known supporter of Russia’s operation in Ukraine, in 2014, Tatarsky fought against Ukrainian nationalists with the Donbas resistance. He had more than half a million followers on Telegram. While he is usually pro-war, he was critical of Russia’s setbacks in Ukraine.
According to BBC, Tatarsky was the guest speaker at an event hosted at the cafe. Even though it is not clear if he was the target of the attack, the police are still investigating it as a suspected murder.
The outlet reported quoting Interior Ministry sources that a statue gifted to the blogger in a box had the bomb hidden in it. CNN reports that following the explosion, a facade of the building collapsed, and led to most of the injuries.
