Hundreds of people bade farewell to Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent right-wing political thinker in Russia, at her funeral after she was killed in a car bombing, hailing her as a martyr.
The 29-year-old was the daughter of ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin, who spoke during a farewell ceremony held on Tuesday, saying with his voice breaking that his daughter “died for the people, died for Russia”.
“The huge price we have to pay can only be justified by the highest achievement: our victory,” he said, standing next to his daughter’s casket, her black-and-white portrait placed behind it. “She lived for the sake of victory, and she died for the sake of victory. Our Russian victory, our truth, our Orthodox faith, our state.”
Russian political scientist and ideologue Alexander Dugin mourns for his daughter Darya Dugina, who was killed in a car bomb attack, during a memorial service in Moscow, Russia August 23, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
‘She lived for the sake of victory, and she died for the sake of victory. Our Russian victory, our truth, our Orthodox faith, our state,’ Alexander Dugin said during a memorial service in Moscow [Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused Ukraine of organising the murder, but Kyiv has denied it.
Dugina was killed when a remotely-controlled explosive device planted in her SUV blew up on Saturday night as she was driving on the outskirts of Moscow, ripping the vehicle apart and killing her on the spot, authorities said.
Her father Alexander Dugin is a philosopher, writer, and political theorist who is known for his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin including his decision to send troops into Ukraine. It is widely believed that he was the intended target of the bomb attack. Russian media quoted witnesses as saying that the SUV belonged to Dugin and that he had decided at the last minute to travel in another vehicle.
Wednesday will mark the six-month anniversary of Russia’s “special military operation”. The death of Dugina has prompted calls among the Russian elite for revenge, and the US Embassy in Kyiv warned of a possible increase of Russian military strikes.
Flowers and candles are placed next to a portrait of media commentator Darya Dugina, who was killed in a car bomb attack, in Moscow, Russia August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Flowers and candles are placed next to a portrait of media commentator Darya Dugina, who was killed in a car bomb attack, in Moscow, Russia [File: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]
“I consider it a barbarous crime for which there can be no forgiveness,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
“I hope the investigation will be quickly completed and according to the results of this investigation of course there can be no mercy for the organisers, those who commissioned this, and the perpetrators,” he told reporters.
Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov reaffirmed the denial late Monday, saying that “our special services have no relation to that”.
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