Moscow has placed a woman suspected of delivering a bomb that killed a fervently pro-Putin Russian military blogger on its wanted list.
Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, died while leading a discussion at the cafe on the banks of the Neva River in the historic heart of the city. Russian reports claimed the bomb was concealed in a statuette of the blogger given to him as a gift just before the explosion.
Over 30 people were wounded by the blast, and 10 of them remain in grave condition, according to the authorities.
The Russian Interior Ministry identified the suspect as Darya Tryopova, a 26-year-old St. Petersburg resident who had been previously detained for taking part in anti-war rallies.
It was initially reported by the Interfax news agency that Ms Tryopova was arrested late on Sunday, though it later said that she was on the run while her mother and sister were summoned for questioning.
The Interior Ministry put Ms Tryopova on the wanted list on Monday.
Witnesses said that the suspect asked questions and exchanged remarks with Mr Tatarsky during the discussion.
One witness, Alisa Smotrova, said the woman told Mr Tatarsky that she had made a statuette of him but that guards asked her to leave it at the door, suspecting it could be a bomb. They joked and laughed, and then she went to the door, grabbed the bust and presented it to Mr Tatarsky.
A video showed Mr Tatarsky making jokes about the bust and putting it on the table next to him just before the explosion.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, the state’s top criminal investigation agency, opened a probe on charges of murder.
No one has publicly claimed responsibility for the attack, but military bloggers and patriotic commentators immediately blamed Ukraine.
They also compared the bombing to last August’s assassination of nationalist TV commentator Darya Dugina, who was killed when a remotely controlled explosive device planted in her SUV blew up as she was driving on the outskirts of Moscow.
Russian authorities blamed Ukraine’s military intelligence for Dugina’s death, but Kyiv denied involvement.
Dugina’s father, Alexander Dugin, a nationalist philosopher and political theorist who strongly supports the invasion of Ukraine, hailed Tatarsky as an “immortal” hero who died to save the Russian people.
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