Last September, he recorded himself at a Kremlin ceremony announcing the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, making bold statements such as “We will defeat everyone. We will kill everyone. We will rob everyone as necessary. Just as we like it.”
Russian authorities have accused Ukraine and supporters of jailed critic Alexey Navalny of orchestrating the attack. In Ukraine, they blame Russia’s domestic infighting.
The investigation has led to the arrest of Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old St. Petersburg resident, on “terrorist offenses” related to the bombing. According to Time she was previous arrested for anti-war protesting.
Tatarsky was conducting a meet-and-greet at the cafe. He was the guest of a pro-war group called Cyber Front Z when the blast occurred.
A video shared by a Telegram channel linked to Russian law enforcement showed Tatarsky being handed something by Darya Trepova minutes before the explosion.
Tatarsky’s death follows the murder of Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent ultra-nationalist intellectual. She was killed in a car bombing outside Moscow last year. And the death has shaken the Kremlin-connected elite.
