On the evening of April 2, an explosion occurred in the Street Bar cafe on Universitetskaya embankment in the center of St. Petersburg. His victim was the war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky (real name – Maxim Fomin), who held a creative meeting with the audience. An improvised explosive device (IED) was hidden in a figurine, which, according to one version, was brought to the cafe by a visitor. The chronicle of what happened is in the Izvestia article.
eyewitness accounts
An eyewitness to the explosion, Rodion Varezhkin, told Izvestia that a figurine, which he was presented with during a creative evening, exploded in the hands of military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky.
According to Alisa Smotrova, a participant in the creative meeting, one of the girls took the microphone to ask the military commander a question. She introduced herself as Anastasia and stated that she had already met Tatarsky, then she gave him a postcard. Now she expressed a desire to give him the sculpture.
According to her, everyone in the cafe began to discuss the gift, and then an explosion suddenly thundered.
The moment of the explosion was recorded by an external camera. First, a fiery flash appeared inside the cafe, then windows were broken in the building and a hinged veranda fell.
Versions of what happened
Political scientist Dmitry Solonnikov, in an interview with Izvestia, suggested that the explosion in St. Petersburg was organized to divert attention from the situation with the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. He believes that the organizers of the explosion wanted to demonstrate the success of Ukrainian intelligence, as well as sow panic among Russian activists.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Russian journalists are constantly under threat of reprisals from the Kyiv regime.
“[Журналистов] are subjected to harassment, branded in the literal sense with special markings on the digital platforms of American Internet monopolies and arrange a “witch hunt” in the Western media,” she said.
A former colleague of military commander Vladlen Tatarsky told Izvestia that Ukrainian sabotage groups and intelligence were probably involved in the explosion in St. Petersburg.
“I imagine, of course, that these are Ukrainian sabotage groups, intelligence. We understand that the entire NATO apparatus is working against us, that is, the enemies of Russia,” he said.
In addition, the senator from the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) Daria Lantratova stressed that the Kiev regime has once again shown its true colors. She noted that hostilities are taking place not only at the front, but also in the information field.
According to American political scientist Scott Bennett, Vladlen Tatarsky could have been killed by Ukrainian radicals with the support of the West. He suggested that London and Washington provided the satellites with which the explosion was carried out.
Victims
As a result of the explosion, one person died – Vladlen Tatarsky. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Health reported that 30 people were injured, of which 24 were taken to medical institutions in St. Petersburg from the scene, and six more sought help on their own.
Member of the Russian Geographical Society Vladimir Dervenev told Izvestia that the explosion injured journalist Tatyana Lyubina, whose face was injured by shrapnel, and Sergey Chaulin, organizer of the Immortal Regiment in Tallinn. He was injured in the hip, shoulder and head.
The head physician of the Mariinsky hospital said that 13 people were taken to the medical facility after the explosion in the cafe. According to him, three patients are in serious condition, two more are in moderate condition, the rest were admitted with minor injuries.
As one of the victims said, he talked in a cafe with Vladlen Tatarsky, managed to ask him a few questions, but soon after that there was a bang.
The course of the investigation
The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia (TFR) for St. Petersburg opened a criminal case on the fact of an explosion in a cafe in the city center. In addition, the chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, put under control the investigation of the criminal case on the fact of the murder of military commander Vladlen Tatarsky.
The prosecutor of St. Petersburg, Viktor Melnik, said that operational and investigative measures were organized to identify the persons involved in the explosion in the cafe.
Presumably, the explosive device was brought by one of the visitors – a girl who introduced herself as Anastasia. The law enforcement agencies indicated that its capacity was more than 200 g of TNT.
Later, a source for Izvestia reported that a second suspect appeared in the case of the explosion in the cafe – this is a girl named Daria Trepova. She entered the establishment with a box in her hands shortly before the start of the creative evening. It was noted that she transferred donations to the extremist organization FBK banned in Russia (this material concerns the activities of a foreign agent of the FBK). Searches were carried out at her place of residence. The security forces took a masked woman out of the apartment. It could be Daria’s mother or sister.
In addition, it became known that Trepova purchased a plane ticket from Pulkovo Airport. She was supposed to leave on the day of the explosion, but did not show up for landing.
Tatarsky’s activities
Vladlen Tatarsky is known as a military blogger and writer. More than 500 thousand people have subscribed to his Telegram channel. He gained popularity after the start of a special operation to protect the Donbass. He posted videos called “Evening Vladlen”, in which he gave advice to military personnel, and also analyzed the course of events in the NWO. Tatarsky also served as a volunteer in the Vostok battalion, one of the first and most famous units of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The battalion was formed in the spring of 2014 and took an active part in the battles of 2014-2015. During the Minsk agreements, Vladlen served in the 4th brigade of the People’s Militia of the Luhansk People’s Republic.
Similar incidents
This is not the first time a media personality has been killed with an explosive.
Daria Dugina, daughter of the famous philosopher Alexander Dugin, died on the evening of August 20, 2022. An explosive device went off in a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, in which she was returning from the Tradition literary and musical festival in the Moscow region. Criminologists found out that the explosive device was planted under the bottom of the car from the driver’s seat and was actuated remotely.
Two days later, the FSB announced that the case had been solved. The perpetrator of the murder was a citizen of Ukraine Natalia Vovk. According to the agency, Vovk arrived in Russia with her daughter Sophia Shaban, on August 21 she left through the Pskov region to Estonia. On November 2, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow arrested Vovk in absentia on charges of murdering Dugina.
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