ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – A Russian court has handed down a 27-year prison sentence to Daria Trepova for the murder of pro-Kremlin blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who was killed in an explosion at a St. Petersburg cafe last year.
Vladlen Tatarsky, known for his ardent pro-war commentary and occasional criticism of Moscow’s battlefield failures, was one of Russia’s most outspoken and ultranationalist military bloggers before his death.
The explosion that killed Tatarsky occurred during an event at the cafe in April 2023. Trepova was arrested soon after, on suspicion that she had handed over the explosive device, hidden in a statue, to Tatarsky, as reported by state media Tass at the time.
Trepova’s husband, Dmitry Rylov, believes she was set up. Tatarsky had gained popularity by providing analysis and commentary on Telegram, much of which advocated for a harsher approach towards Ukraine, a cause he supported.
Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, was known for creating his Telegram channel in 2019, naming it in honor of the protagonist of Victor Pelevin’s novel “Generation ‘P,’” according to Russian state news agency Vesti. He had also written several books and previously fought among Russian forces in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, in 2014.
As the story continues to develop, more information is expected to surface.