A Russian Blogger in the Scenes of the Decay of Sergei Tatarsky: A Video Footage of the Stpetersburg Explosion

It exploded, killing him and wounding more than 30 other people. The Russian investigative committee has requested that Trepova remain in detention until June 2.

Russian authorities identified a suspect in custody as “Trepova” and the ministry released a video of her. In the video, a male voice asks the woman if she understands why she has been detained. She replies in the affirmative, and said she was detained for being at the scene of the murder of Tatarsky.

One 25-second video shows Tatarsky standing with the event’s host receiving an unexpected gift. A figurine with a combat helmet and a small statuette are inside a box that the blogger takes out.

The witness said that before moving to a different part of the room, the woman gave the statuette to the host. The video itself does not show her handing the statue to the host and CNN is not able to independently verify the claims.

At one point Tatarsky called her a different name than her real name. After the statuette is presented, she turns to return to her seat but Tatarsky calls her to sit near the front and she does.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/04/europe/st-petersburg-explosion-video-russian-blogger-death-intl-hnk/index.html

The Vladlen Tatarsky blast in Kiev, Russia, and the challenges of the return of the death penalty: In-fighting against Russian dissent, torture and ill treatment

At least 32 people were injured in the blast, with 10 people in serious condition, state media Ria Novosti reported, citing the Russian Ministry of Health.

Russia’s interior ministry added Trepova to a wanted list following the explosion, and her arrest was announced on Telegram by the Investigative Committee of Russia shortly after.

Human-rights advocates and international observers say Russian police routinely use torture and ill treatment to extract confessions, and Russia’s security service uses coercion and entrapment to recruit informants among Russia’s opposition groups.

Her husband was a member of the Libertarian Party of Russia, TASS said. The libertarian party denied she was ever a member and the small political party was not associated with the woman.

Within Russia, suspicion has fallen on Ukrainian special services, informal Russian opposition groups and associates of the jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny, though his supporters have denied having anything to do with the explosion.

Russia’s Investigative Committee for St. Petersburg said it had opened a murder investigation but later reclassified the criminal case as a terrorist act, claiming that “the planning and organization” of the killing was “carried out from the territory of Ukraine.”

The explosion is blamed on in-fighting in Russia. On Monday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declined to make any comment about the blast.

Tatarsky, also known as Maxim Fomin, was a vociferous critic of Moscow’s military success and was known for his pro-war commentary. He gained followers on Telegram for his commentary on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The killing of Russian military journalist Vladlen Tatarsky has set off angry demands among politicians and commentators in Russia for the return of the death penalty, and for a merciless crackdown on dissent through greater use of terrorism and treason charges.

Tatarsky died when a device exploded during a public event on Sunday. A suspect who is currently in custody in Moscow is charged with terrorism under the Russian criminal code, as well as the death of a man.

On another popular Russian show called “60 Minutes,” one senior regional official, Andrey Gurulev, said he longed for the “days of Stalin…when the enemies of the people would get a pick and an axe and have fun waving it at a [Siberian prison camp].”

The head of the Wagner private military company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is from St. Petersburg, visited the café where the explosion occurred on Tuesday and joined the chorus demanding a return of the death penalty.

“There needs to be a return to the death penalty and the toughest measures in relation to those who participate in this kind of internal squabbling,” he said.

What are the demands from the hardliners against the authorities in Russia? After the Tatarsky killing, a Russian politician protests against the reform of the security council

The demands from hardliners go beyond the already severe measures taken in Russia to stifle dissent and free expression. More than ninety NGOs and independent media outlets have been made foreign agents due to the expansion of a new law that made it possible for almost any person or entity regardless of nationality or location to be designated.

Hundreds and likely thousands of civic activists have left the country since the invasion began. Anti-war protests were met with force and mass arrests.

The head of the security council is a well-known figure who demands strict punishment for dissent and opposition.

In November, he recalled how traitors were dealt with during World War II. “The verdict to such scoundrels was the same: execution by firing squad without trial. Right at the scene of the crime… If you are a traitor who committed such a crime… you’ve given up your right to life.”

After the killing of Tatarsky, Medvedev said on Telegram that “terrorism is back on our streets,” and blamed those championed in the west as “fearless knights of justice and anti-corruption,” a not-so-veiled reference to jailed opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

He said the same thing that they wish defeat for Russia and the destruction of our homeland.

There is nothing to negotiate with terrorists. “They should be exterminated like rabid dogs… forgiveness and compassion do not apply to them.”

A senior politician with the governing United Russia party picked up the theme, demanding that “stringent measures” must be taken against the informal opposition in Russia.

In his opinion, such opposition was turning into a gang of murders and terrorists during the war, despite being relatively ideological.

Already detained on other charges, he was accused of high treason in October last year. His lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, said the high treason charges related to Kara-Murza’s public criticism of the Russian authorities in international forums.

The death penalty may only be imposed for the most grave crimes, according to the Russian Criminal Code. The death penalty can not be imposed on women, people under the age of 18 and men who have reached the age of 65 at the moment of sentencing.