Russia Detains Suspect in War Blogger’s Bomb Killing

Russian authorities said Monday they have detained a suspect in a St. Petersburg bomb blast that killed a leading military blogger and injured dozens of others.

Military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, died Sunday and 32 others were wounded when an explosion ripped through a cafe in the center of Russia’s second-largest city.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which opened a criminal murder case shortly after the explosion, said Monday that a St. Petersburg woman, Daria Trepova, had been detained in connection with Tatarsky’s death.

Trepova’s name had appeared in the Interior Ministry's database of wanted persons on unspecified charges earlier Monday.

The state-run TASS news agency quoted a law enforcement source as saying the blast was "caused by an improvised explosive device hidden inside a statue given to Tatarsky as a gift."

A video showed Tatarsky placing the statue on a table next to him, with eyewitnesses saying the bomb detonated five minutes later.

St. Petersburg-based media posted footage Monday showing a makeshift memorial outside the crime scene.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/03/russia-detains-suspect-in-war-bloggers-bomb-killing-a80687