Russia: Attempt to assassinate Alexander Dugin, a close aide of Putin, daughter killed in car blast

The daughter of a close aide of Russian President Vladimir Putin was reportedly murdered near Moscow.  According to local media, when Darya Dugin was on her way home, she died when her car caught fire.  It is not yet clear that the attack was aimed at his father, the Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, who is known as 'Putin's brain'.

Dugin is a hyper-nationalist ideologue

 Dugin is a prominent ultra-nationalist ideologue who is believed to be close to the Russian President.  According to Russian media outlet 112, both father and daughter were to travel back from an event in the same car on Saturday evening, but Dugin decided to travel separately from his daughter at the last minute.

According to the BBC, unverified footage posted on Telegram shows Dugin watching in shock as emergency services arrive at the scene of a vehicle's burning wreckage.  However, this footage could not be independently verified.

An unidentified law enforcement officer confirmed to RIA news agency that a car had caught fire on a highway in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region, but did not provide any further details.  There has been no official comment from the Russian authorities yet.

 Despite not holding an official position in the government, Dugin's father is a close aide of the Russian President and is also known as 'Putin's Rasputin'.

Journalist and commentator was Darya Dugin

 The philosopher's daughter Daria Dugin herself was a prominent journalist and commentator who supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  The ultra-nationalist writings of Alexander Dugin are credited with deeply shaping Vladimir Putin's worldview and are closely linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 Earlier, the ideologue expressed his support for Russian aggression towards Ukraine.  He was placed under US sanctions in 2015 for his alleged involvement in Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014.