Assassination Week #5: Alexander Dugin’s Daughter Meets a Car Bomb

love you so much. So if people were, if people were going to pick an assassination method for me, just to get a whole bunch of dog Dander and rub it on my pillow and I'll be dead with I'll be doing the next morning. I've I've seen you get rubbed on by a bunch of dogs and you've you've never died yet. No, yeah, that's get uncomfortable and you have to use your inhaler and it's you know, but I don't. I just I just ignore that. You get uncomfortable and you have to use your in Halor, Roberts

like that's great. I'm super thrilled with that out Um, you know what other outcome I'm thrilled with? So sick transition. So we are talking about the assassination of Alexander Dugan's daughter. It's IT'S A it's a, it's it's kind of a wild story. There's a lot of weird things going on. We still don't know much about what actually happened. Um, there's a lot of conflicting theories, a lot of experts who are saying different things, quote unquote, experts who are

saying different things. Uh, it's it's wild. But I have a little right up here that we're going to go through based on what I assume everyone's questions will be about this assassination. UH, first thing, probably before we before we get into Alexander Dugan's daughter, I guess it's probably worth clarifying who Alexander Dugan is, because to understand the nature of this assassination and possible motives, it's important to

know who he is as a person. So I know we've talked about Dugan on the show before kind of briefly, but Alexander Dugan is a Russian traditionalist, neo fascist political theorist. Um, some people call him a philosopher. I think that's being a little generous. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, he was born in nineteen sixty two into a high ranking military family and Dugan spent his early years as an anti communist

dissident in the collapsing Soviet Union. He joined various a dissident ultra nationalist, occult Anti Semitic and Fascist groups or collectives that sprung up during the last two decades of the Soviet Union. Uh, in the nineties he was one of the founders of the Russian National Bolshevik Party, which he left in the late nineties because the party was

not fascist enough. Um. So he he left the political party he helped, he helped start because it was it had too many of the Bolshevik parts of the National Bolshevik Party. Um He he kind of carries on some of the traditionalist political philosophy from Twentieth Century Esoteric Fascist writers like Julius Sevola, whose book on Pagan Imperialism Dugan translated into Russian. Just as a brief bit of context

for people. Now you know their fascism and communism are are portrayed as in strict, strict opposition to each other. But if we're going back to the twenties and thirties, a lot of these guys had a lot of things in common. There were times where the Communist Party of Germany and the Nazis would fight the cops together. Um. There were people in the Nazi party who were more or less national bolsheviks in terms of their political outlook. Um, and they were all murdered on the night of long knives.

Like the Nazi party had a left wing that it purged. Anyway. This is just like, this is not coming out of nowhere. This isn't a new development, and the thing with Dugan is that he really is does carry on that type of Red Brown alliance idea with a lot of his politics, of of of bringing together some of the more harder fascists with some people who are more like authoritarian communists, Um, and we see that with the National Bolshevik Party. At

this point. Dugan is probably most known for his influence on Contemporary Russian politics, the NEO Eurasianism ideology, his writing on the multi polar world theory and his fourth political theory about the ascension of Russia as the world's like traditionalist political power, Um, and usurping the kind of political

dominance of the United States. And Dugan's NEO EURASIANISM is described by Antonslav, an eastern European far right scholar, as, quote, a form of Fascist ideology centered on the idea of revolutionizing the Russian society and building a tolitarian Russian domin needed Eurasian Empire that would challenge and eventually defeat its eternal adversary, represented by the United States and it's atlanticist allies, less springing about a new golden age of global political

and cultural illiberalism, unquote. So it's it's very centered in just being against the ideas of liberalism and being against like globalist liberalism, like actual like globalization, Um, and still carrying over a lot of influences from esoteric writers like Julius Sevola in terms of like kids, anti modern, anti

liberal politics based in like traditional, anti multicultural right this. Yeah, yeah, a lot of if you've ever seen someone screaming about like Global Homo or something like, that's probably one of

these guys. Yeah, and that that Dugan's daughter actually, in her last ever interview, talks about that a little bit and we're yeah, yeah, like there's there's there's there's a lot of people in the US who like see this ship and like mistake it for anti imperialism, and it's basically because like they've lost the ability to like conceive of an empire that isn't the US, Britain or France, and even that's tenuous and it's like guys like from a lot of these commibal accounts, you get the attitude

that like, well, only the United States is capable of being imperialism, which is just then just say you're anti us, just say you're anti the United States, because you're not anti imperialism. Because, let me tell you something, there's been a lot of empires in history. Controversial statement from Robert Evans. Quite quite a few different empires over time. They're not all America press probably worth like pointing out the Russia asset exists. Is An empire, right, it's just a contiguous one.

It's it's one that that is joined by land separated by seas. Doesn't still be being an empire? Yes, as as we can see, with them trying to expand into Ukraine, which is heavily influenced itself by some of the theory that Dugan was writing from the nineties up until now um and then, kind of in reference to Dugan's influence on contemporary Russian politics, especially since Russia's so far failed invasion of Ukraine, Dugan is often referred to as, quote unquote,

Putin's brain or, quote unquote, Putin's Resputin Um. And while he is well connected and has and while he is certainly well connected and has quite a bit of influence in Russia and the global far right movement in general, the degree to which he holds significant power in the decisions that Putin makes is definitely heavily contested among actual

political experts. We think some of the whole Putin's brain and Putin's like resputent thing is a little bit over emphasis, over emphasized with sometimes Dugan's never held off, there's Dugan, Dugan's never we we we don't even have a picture of Dugan and Puttin together, like we don't even know if they've actually like been in the same room. We don't know if the same person, the same person. Yes,

that's correct, Chris. The thing that is important to know about Putin as regards Dugan because again, as garrison said, not trying to make a statement here about the degree like saying that he is or is not any kind of influence, but Vladimir Putin has been doing this, has been working towards the where he is now for decades and is a guy who has had a view of the world for decades that he's worked towards making real um and it's not a view of the world that

you need to be. Dugan's an esotericist, like you do not need to think Esoteric Lee to understand what Vladimir Putin is doing. He wants to reunite the Russian imperial project that fell apart when the Soviet Union did, using violence and whatever other means he can do, which is why he's gone done what he's done in Georgia. Um, it's why he's done doing what he's doing in Ukraine. This is not like complicated. Understanding Putin's motivations are is

not hard. I think a lot of people have kind of leaned into that Putin's brain thing, especially since the invasion of Ukraine, because in in Dugan's seminal nineteen nineties, seven book the foundations of geopolitics, Dugan lays out his vision to divide the world up and calling for Russia to rebuild this influence through annexations and alliances. Well, all in a heavy opposition to Ukraine as a sovereign state, and a lot of Dugan's writing has been about trying

to reconquer Ukraine and absorb it into Russia. Um. Yeah, and he's a useful guy, but yeah, I guess. And like the the in an article from the from the Guardian, that I was I was using for one of the sources for this episode. They they claim that the foundations of geopolitics was a very popular book in the Russian General Staff Academy. Um, and kind of was. Was One of the things that shifted Dugan from like a weird esoteric dissident to actually becoming a more influential and prominent

pillar of the conservative establishment inside Russia. Um, as as Dugan's writing evolved, started to emphasize less, the more esoteric elements his writing did, did get more popular in Russia. Um. But at this point he is stronger as a symbol, uh, less so than having actual personal influence over decision making. You know what does have influence of your decision making?

They have influence of your decision making. You're you're the sub the sublemental messages that we've been placing insider ads for the past three years. Um. That leads that that has been an esotary project of of of my design to to influence you to buy these products and services. That's right, James, I'm I'm trying to I think we have a couple of different esoteric projects. I'm not sure what Y'alls is. I'm trying to get people to bring the Super U Baja back. That was the super that

had a little truck bed in the back. It was the Super Oh my God, how can yeah, I was gonna come speaking of one word, but I realized where that was taking me and I started off to me, it is a cup. Yeah, it is a cup. It's my second favorite cup. Um, why didn't they call it the Super U Cuck, and I would buy one immediately. Yeah, the Super Ye, please buy, please buy a super cuck.

Enjoy these adverts and we're back. All right, so let's I think it's now actually time to talk about the the actual casualty this assassination, which is not Alexander Dugan, instead Gina U Daria, dead, Gaina more like it. Yeah,

so she was. She was. She was born on December fifte n Daria herself was a Russian journalist and far right activist who was very vocal in support of the well, I mean yeah, she, she, she did work for a number of journalists of journalism outlets, not only Russia, including in France, like she. She she did. She was a journalist. Um, she did work. It wasn't very good. She's a bad person, um, but she worked for a few French outlets. Um, she was very vocal in support of the invasion of Ukraine.

In accordance with her father's political theories, she studied at the Moscow State University, specializing in the political philosophy of late neoplatonism. So you already know she's going to be really annoying. Anyone tries to describe that degree program to me, I might hit them like absolutely no. Yeah, we, we, we, we, we, we. We have, in that one sentence alone, laid out justification for assassination. Okay, well, okay, come on, I think I

think that's a bit too far. I'm gonna say right now I bought property with land so that when people say the word Neo platonism around me I can get rid of the body. So here's some fun facts about about Daria. She played the flute. Um, she was she was in her she was in a band, I think in college, uh, called Jason May refuse, which was an electronic music band. Now, Dason. I bet her ship did actually rock. It probably did. Slap of, I mean like and this, and this was when she was less of

a fascist actually. Um, now, just in terms of something that kind of an interesting note here. So dason translates to here being, which was, which is one of Alexander Dugan's favorite favorite terms. It's it's related to the philosophical concepts uh espposed by Martin Heideger. Yes, so it's it's just a little nerdy reference to both her father. I guess she was probably exposed to the phrase via her father, but it's a hideger reference. So she named her electronic

music band off of Hideker. If you're trying to kill her ghost now, which is pretty funny. Yeah, yeah, if you're in a band with a hiding a reference to leave that band now. But but yeah, when she when she was in the university, her friends say she actually she actually wasn't really into her dad or her dad's politics. Um, her her friends talk about that. When she when she

was in university, she really liked Um, guide to board. Um, she was interested in some of the more yeah, like just quickly, as like a lot of popular stuff on the left. Now ship like a crime thing, but also stuff like Um ad busters is influenced by guided boy. Yeah, I mean also like the French Revolution in Yeah, yeah, I was arrived for a hundred and twenty years and

never aged. He was also, I will say this is a thing a lot of people don't know about, the board was influential in the development of war games and and is part of the intellectual tradition that gave us warhammer. That that that actually makes a lot of sense. Makes it? It makes complete sense. Yeah, yeah, but but yeah, so she was. She was into stuff like that in yeah, I must I don't think. I don't think she would

have described herself as that. Um, but that was the types of stuff that she liked talking about and that was the types of groups that she was involved with. She she never talking about her father, and her father was already a very popular um person at this time, specifically inside Russian universities. But she, she was. She did not drive with that type of stuff. Um. And then by by the end of her kind of time in university,

she started shifting more towards what her friends described as orthodoxy. Um. I would say it's like she she should more towards her father's traditionalist stuff. I'm not sure what exactly caused this shift to happen, Um, but here's a quote from one of her friends quote. It was strange because before that she has not shown any interest in him and

her father had no influence on her. Um. And it's so, yeah, something by the by the end she by the by the end of her time in university and she got and by the time she was out of university, Um, she actually just became an activist with the International Eurasianism movement of do again and began to arrange lectures for her father and came a very active supporter of his.

And then after that she started writing for state run news outlets like rt and running parts of her father's website, where she was then listed as his press secretary, and started to appear at the events of the Eurasian Movement as a speaker as well. So she she shifted in like the last like probably ten fifteen years past, like ten years she was shifting more towards her father, even though when she was in her twenties she was more

into some of the French leftist stuff. That doesn't surprise number one it's pretty normal for young people to rebel against their parents in that era and be interested in stuff outside of it. And like, I think there's a couple of different ways this could have gone, but a thing that makes total sense to me is that she's rebellious.

She explores some things. The primary things she learns is that life out there is hard and like making a living on your own and completely like is difficult and her dad had a lot of influence and she can make a lot of money working for him, and so back back she goes. I don't know, she lost. She lost a lot of her friends over this because when she started doing stuff with her dad, her friends who are like situations, people are like no, funk that, we're

not going to hang out with you. Yeah, it's, it's, it's it's kind of actually a bomber. Like I, I only, I only, I only got to this part of her life, Um, a few days ago when I was doing the research, and this is actually something I stumbled upon later into my research for this episode, because I was basically, I was Mo only focused on the actual assassination part Um and I when I found this, I was like, oh,

that's actually kind of sad. Yeah, I will say I don't know if this is at work here, but there is a thing in like there is a current in their French al tip left like after sixty eight, like going into the seventies and eighties, that gets like really fucking weird and kind of ghost fascist based around. It's

it's a long story. Whe there's there's a whole thing about a guy who was like sort of involved in the alto left circles, who was like I think he'd been in he'd been in a concentration camp, but he'd been in one of the ones that like wasn't an extermination camp, and he started doing like Holocaust denial, and there's like this whole fucking thing where like a bunch of these people like kind of went really like went

really fucking weird. The rest of people, like the rest of Alto, left his own them and like they like we're kind of involved a bunch of the sort of like the like founding the French neo fascism. It's not like. It's not it's not a path that like has never happened before. That's not coming out of nowhere, especially when your father is who he is. That's not that's not surprising. So when she started? So? Yeah, and in the past few years she started acting as her father's press secretary,

scheduling events for him. She was doing she was doing more writing on her own, um in various outlets, including state run outlets, but also outlets in other countries. Um, but definitely shifting more towards the kind of traditionalist durationism Um side of politics. Earlier this year she was sanctioned by both US and UK authorities, who under under accusations

that she was significantly contributing to online disinformation around Russia's invasion. Um. And in an interview just a few months before her death, Daria expressed pride that both she and her father had been targeted by Western sanctions. They kind of she kind of a wored as like as like a badge of honor Um anti imperial in its filing, the UK office of financial sanctions called a Dougin a frequent, high profile contributor of disinformation in relation to Ukraine and the Russia

invasion of Ukraine on various online platforms. And to get a sense of how she actually politically described herself in the months before her death, in an interview from Mayo She described herself as, quote, a political observer of the International Eurastionist Movement and an expert in international relations. My field of Ativity is in the analysis of European politics

and geopolitics. In this capacity, I appear on Russian, Pakistani, Turkish, Chinese and Indian television channels, presenting a multipolar worldview of political processes. For me, a particularly important issue is the development of the multipolar world theory. It is clear that the globalist movement is over and the end of liberalism has come, the end of liberal history, unquote. So and and guess, and guess what she thinks is going to

replace liberal history. It's it's just it's Orthodox traditionalist Russian fascism. Um, she in that same interview, she described the war in Ukraine as, quote, a clash between globalist and Eurasian civilization. I'll let I'll let my friends in Kiev know what they are. That's great, they'll be excited by that. Yeah, it is. It is. One of the things that's been sort of interesting to me about this whole thing is like, okay,

so do you do? You can sort of comes out of like like Russian National Bolshevism into some extent right. But then, like if, if if you look at the propaganda about Ukraine, it's like, okay, these people are all. These people are all Nazis, but like also with their communists and also they're gay, and it's like yes, well, that that's the thing is like, you know, do people like Dougan and Dougina, well, being absolutely fascists, can can pretend

to be against Nazis for various reasons. Um, Dougina definitely, uh, and and do good as well. Are Are Pretty Homophobic, Um, and they view gayness as a sign of like degenerate liberalism. So like. But like they definitely walk that line between like,

but you know that, and that that's the thing. A lot of that, like what Red Brown Alliance are National Bolshevik type things do is walk that line and how they how they try to present they're, you know, cultural beliefs who are to heavily based in traditionalism versus their versus their beliefs on like fascism and communism. Um, but anyway we are. Let's see, and in her last ever interview, which took place on the day of her death. Um, do you said that quote? Western just Biggie, by the way,

I don't know who that is. God. Alright, we're doing a big episode next you're of your homework for this week. Please come back next week and do better. So in in in her last ever interview, she said that, quote, Western utilitarianism has come to an end and a special military operation is, it seems to me, than the last

nail in the coffin of this world hedgemon Um. And then later on the interview she talked about how environmentalism, support for transgender people, quote, the conversion of a person into a homosexual, unquote, as well as is and freaking is um are tools with which the West is trying to fragment society and reduce its population. Free my friends who dumpster dived so they could buy more drugs fifteen years ago. We're part of a conspiracy to fragment society.

It's not that cocaine was expensive and the fucking trader Joe's didn't lock its dumpster. It's that, okay, awesome. So, yeah, so, those those, those were the views that she exposed hours before dying. So well, talking about the conversion of a person into a homosexual, transgender people, freakani is Um as being the things that are destroying the west. To be clear, all of these things are based and showed in fact

destroy the West. Yeah, if the if, the thing that finally kills capitalism is dumpster diving teens, I be thrilled, but I just don't see it happening. Uh. So, before we get to the actual deed, let's set this stage for where this, uh this event took place and where everything went down. So it's August, a Saturday. Alexander Dugan and UH Daria Dugina are attending this festival just outside of Moscow, where Dugan's making a planned appearance that Um

and he gave a lecture that Saturday evening at this festival. Now, the festival was called the tradition quote unquote. Tradition is what's whatever ever everything calls it. So I wonder what the festivals about. Huh, appreciation of the headline song from the play fiddler on the roof, best sung by zero Mostel. Look it up. It's an incredible performance. That must have been it right. So the tradition festival is billed as, quote, a Patriotic Cultural Festival and family event for art, literature

and Music Lovers. Just the last thing I've ever heard. So it's basically it's it's this traditionalist, kind of quasi fascist like art festival for people who like Neo platonism, is what it actually is. Of It. It takes place in Zarkava manner. It's this, it's this biggest state, about

twelve miles away from Moscow. Um, the tradition festival is supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the Ministry of Culture and tourism for the Moscow region, among a few other kind of sponsors, and both Daria and her father were special guests at this year's festival. Um. In an interview, a colleague of Dugina's said that the conversation topics at the festival between Duke and his daughter and other tradition festival attendees Um. They said they said this

in an interview. Quote. We talked about the Russian idea, the empire and the cultural war. Unquote. So that's just like the regular conversations you're having at this festival. To give you a sense of like what this thing actually is. Um, and the blast that eventually that did kill uh Dugan's daughter happened shortly after DNA left the tradition festival Um at the estate where her father had given a lecture just hours previous. Um, do you know? Who? Do you

know who won't blow up? And I don't. I don't want to say that. Look, I'm gonna say right now. If you are planning to assassinate a member of the Dugan family and once spot to sponsor our podcast, we're on board. I think we're fine with that, actually, because it dis yeah, yeah, actually, we'll do it for free. Just give us a name, because we have and we're this is this is part of our to call freaking identity.

This is, this is, this is what I'm gonna do, in between stealing old pumpkin spice coffee from the trader Joe's dumpster. Unbelievable. I will do. I will do a traditionalist, because pumpkin spice coffee is destroying the West. We have to kill it. Yeah, Robert, Robert and Daniel fucking love the pumpkin spice it's it's destroying. Degenerate Liberalism in the form of Pumpkin spice coffee has not enjoy it in any wayship, I don't want to Yuck you, yum. I'm happy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I would like to Robert, Oh my God, here's that break. You know what? Yes, we are, we are back. Um, I'M gonna open up with a quote. Love quotes from the Brom. I don't know who that I don't know what that is. Oh, the bomb. Yeah, Mr Bomb, when you exploded, what's going through your head? Then we are thinking about hot staria Duina.

But no, it's actually no, no, perfect. We're finishing assassination week to actually to actually justify some of our kind of glee at this happening, because Dugan is a horrible person. They're both trash. Yeah, I am going to read a quote from Port Sour in the Guardian. Quote. On Saturday night, the violence that the alternationalist Russian thinker Alexander ducan has propagandized for decades suddenly entered his own life when his daughter was killed in a car bomb on the outskirts

of Moscow. I think that's a really important thing that, like, he's made his entire career off of doing violence on other people and and promoting genocides on people that he doesn't like. They are a people I know who are dead because of the war that he and his daughter

urged to happen. So, yeah, like it's it's it's what it's, it's it's it's the same thing as like when every single fucking Nicon Gould dies, like no one should no one show, no one should feel bad about them at all, because we spent they dedicated their entire lives to having another country be invaded and having all these people killed

their lives destroyed. So fuck them. But yeah, the violence, the violence that he's fetishized and and propagandized for decades has has actually entered his life for like the first time now. And funny. So, after giving a talk at the festival, Dugan and his daughter were due to leave the venue together in the same car, but at the last minute Dugan decided to travel separately and take different vehicle. He was stepped off by the C I A, according

to a friend of the family. Now, because at the last minute he did decide to take another vehicle, this actually has spawned a lot of conspiracy theories, Um, which will kind of get into it a bit later. But but this, this is what happened, is that they were they were they were going to leave together and the last minute they decided to take separate vehicles. Um, five minutes later, while do you note, was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser on the highway. That makes the tragedy. That's

a fine car. It didn't deserve to in that way, Robert. Why couldn't it? Why couldn't it have been afford some sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the cause. Land Cruiser, on a flag. Let's put let's let's all pull one out for comrade Toyota Land Cruiser. You served us well. You made the ultimate sacrifice so that mankind might be free to go off roading. So as as as as she was driving this Tyota Land Cruiser on the highway, a bomb exploded in her car, killing her immediately and sadly

ripping the vehicle apart Um. Witnesses say, debris was thrown all over the road as the Toyota Land Cruiser immediately lost control and crashed into a fence and engulfed in flames. Was No stuff. Yeah, I mean a really solid assassination. It is, what's one of the better executed ones, especially, especially for a car. It's one of the most impressive car bomb attacks that has ever happened. Yeah, yeah, that car bomb, that car bomb killed nobody, but yeah, that

was quite a cab. It was a big moon. We thought that was an air strike. Yes, yes, definite, a large cob so um eye witnesses called the fire Brigrade, but by the time they arrived the entire car was up in flames and firefighters only found one badly burnt corpse in the remains of the vehicle. So investigators say an explicit device planted under the car went off in the vehicle caught fire. This happened about twelve miles west of Moscow, on in the village near the village of

Oh boy, you don't need to try that. Nobody needs the Zimmi. Okay, near near the village of Bullshower, vel Zimmy, at around nine thirty PM local time. Investigators do believe the bombing was, quote, premeditated and moment just walking down the street with a bomb. M Why not? Was Wasn't? It wasn't a vehicle error. This was the planting. No forward or a Chevy, a pinto. Yeah, if if a fucking F one fifty goes up like that, I'm blaming Ford. But no, must have been a bombing. So the bomb

was placed under the car on the driver's side. Now, a friend of the family named Andre Krasnov, who's also the head of the Russia Horizon Social Movement. Um, was one of the first ones to confirm the reports of of Daria's death and but also said that the bomb could have actually been intended for her father, and he gave this quote to media. Quote. This was the father's vehicle. Daria was driving another car, but she took his car. Today, while Alexander went in a different way, he returned. He

was at the side of the tragedy. As far as I understand, Alexander, or probably them together, were the target. Unquote. Now this is this is just speculation. Actually, Um, from what I can tell, there is actually more evidence suggesting the car was indeed registered to Daria Dugina. We I don't believe it is her father's car. Uh. We there was. Some of the vehicle registration was leaked by a Russian opposition UH news news site, like a news site in

in Russia, who's not state funded. Uh, leaked the car registration. It was registered to Daria, not, not, not Alexander Dugan. Um. So, but it is very likely that Dugan may have been a target as well, like, very extremely likely. Uh, it's it's hard, it's it's hard to say. Uh. Now in one of the funniest parts of the assassination, footage posted on telegram appears to show Mr Dugan walking up to the side of the crash. Hey In shock, with his with his mouth just gaping open and hands on his

head like he's like this surprised. It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen. He's walking up to the side of the crash like Oh, it's very that is that is the that's the sound of the face he's making. Is Um we we love to see a wizard in distress. So sad wizard. So the attack happened on Saturday and then come Monday, the Federal Security Service, or the the FSB uh, said that the murder has been solved. Come, come, come, the next Monday. And this is this is not true.

This is what we call a lie. From the FS. Yes, that's that's really disappointing and untruth. Yeah, that's wow. From the Russian FBI. No, no intelligent services ever told a lie. UN that's disappointing. So so, yeah, according according to according to the F FSB uh, the the attack was mastermind by the Ukrainian secret services and carried out by an ace of Ukrainian national names. Batalia Vulk who fled? Last name, yeah, on, Johnny Racist keep the fan did it again. Who fled

to Estoda, uh Estonia, following the killing? Um, so, Russia, Russia's FBS did a very brief investigation. Yes, sorry, Russia. Russia's FSB did a very brief investigation. Claimed that it was this female Ukrainian citizen, Um and that, and that she fled the next day, which was Sunday. Ukraine says, uh Nah, uh, not really. Yeah, that is that Ukraine has made. UH, yeah, kind at that noise. It's one

of those things. I would not be surprised, obviously, if Ukraine did it and they have the people responsible or some of their network are still in country. Of course you you make a denial, but if Ukraine did it and they were out of the country, I can't imagine why they wouldn't be like yeah, man, we fucking did yeah, so we're at war. I'll read the actual statements. So

Ukrainian official dismissed the accusations of Ukraine's involvement in the incident. Quote. Ukraine, of course, has has nothing to do with this, because we are not a criminal state, which is the Russian Federation, and even less a terrorist state, said Uh Mike Helio PODILLAC, who is an advisor to President Zelinski. So yeah, I mean maybe Ukraine obviously denies involvement in this. Um, there's

a bunch of people it could be. Could be Ukraine, could be the CIA, could be Ukraine and the CIA could be the FSB, or a lot of a lot of people have a lot of people have theorized all of those things. Yeah, there's really no way to know a lot of yeah, are we are we going to get into the person who destinated the barb, more like the car that? We don't. We don't. We don't know

what actually happened. I'm going to get to some a bit later, but some of the actual mechanisms that caused it to happen are are still unclear, because because the FSB is not like Gavin us any definitive evidence on how this thing actually worked. But the head of the UH, the Nets People's Republic, they they issued their own statement on telegram saying vile villains, the terrorists of Scoundrel so

they're just they're just doing a Cobra commander. That's awesome to Alexander Dugan blew up his daughter in a car. We cherished the memory of Daria. She is a real Russian girl, as if that makes it worse, like if they've blown her up some other way, it would not have been his vile but car. I just lived at the end. It was. She was a real Russian girl. Yeah,

it's like Pinocchio. It's very funny. So some, some politicians and experts, quote UNQUOTE EXPERTS, I've said that Putin himself may have orchestrated the bombing, with little to new evidence and support of that theory. There was a British member of parliament said that Putin may have targeted Dugan over recent criticisms man against his government, which I find to

be very uh. Putin's gotten rid of a shipload of guys who used to be close to him lately, and he didn't use car pomps for they commit suicide, they get sick. You know, a lot of many historians or like you know, extremism kind of researchers are definitely kind of eyeing up the the FSB um. It's you know, it's but it's it's really it's it's really unclear. There was UH. People have proposed that, like this, this attack was orchestrated to kind of create a wave of needed

anger in Russia six months into their failed invasion. Had that worked for him? Ruslan Trad a security researcher in the in the US think tank Atlantic Council, proposed that the the the FSB UH or or other Russian state kind of apparatus is could have been involved, saying it's evident that the murder Dugeana created a wave of needed anger in Russia, and that quote. Dugan is now mostly

a symbol, not an instrument for the state. His role in the creation of current Kremlin mythology for Eurasia and the so called Russian world has already ended, and he and he can be sacrificed. Currently, the Russian army needs victories and a patriotic flame, so they're kind of him posing that he was. It was like this like symbolic sacrifice that like we sacrificed this figure. That means this thing people will be willing to like keep on fighting.

The Ukrainians literally have literally bombed and struck inside Russia at this point and killed fifty plus of their children. You would think that would be enough to make the Russians angry, like blowing up this Weirdo's daughter isn't going to be the thing that Galvini is the nation. To be clear, though, this is the kind of dumb ship

the Atlantic Council will be. A stupid Atlantic Council ship. Yes, yes, and one of the one of the funnier explanations that our theories being posited is by former Russian state deputy uh Eliya Pomrov Um, who is now in so, in an appearance on his Russian language opposition TV channel and Kiev, alleged that that Duino was killed by Russian partisans from a previously unknown anti Putin terrorist group dubbed the National

Republican Army, and that both Dugan and his daughter were targets. And, according to this guy, the group authorized him to issue their manifesto via his telegram channel. Um, this group is entirely made up. This is not real. This is this, is like this, like this, like this, like former Russians, this, this is, like this, this, this former Russian official turned this like Ukrainian Lib Guy, who claims that it's this secret to Anti Putin liberal terrorist group that contacted him.

And this is this is the first ever attack. That's that they're they're going public as this new terrorist group. And I'M gonna I'm gonna say this is the only one of these theories that is abs that that I don't believe. Like the this assassination is a lot like what happened to Epstein, where everyone who brings up a theory has some other reason for having that theory, and so I don't trust anything anyone says about it. But every theory about why he might how he might have died,

is plausible right, like every all of these are plausible. Yeah, might not like, I don't listen. I don't care what the Atlantic Council has to say, but yeah, it could have been the F FSB. I don't care about, like what the Russian government has to say, but yeah, it could have been the Ukrainians, but definitely was not liberal

terrorist groups. First bombing like this is like that. What what of the like the like these single thing where like you can instantly tell that someone is lying about what happened in the bombing is when they say a previously unknown group every this happened, called it's so hard to bomb things. Yeah, like so Um Sergey. Some Leney is a German political expert with particular focus on Russia

and Eastern Europe. Yeah, he definitely has made a lot of statements talking about how Kremlin's version of events is definitely, uh, he says, totally fake and absolutely out of the scale of possibility in terms of blaming it on this this

one Ukrainian as off fighter who infiltrated Russia. Um, and well, well so, the FSB has produced, quote unquote, evidence in support of this theory of saying that this Ukrainian citizen, who arrived in Russia in July with her daughter, rented an apartment in the same building as Dugina's and her into Russia as a Ukrainian, by the way, July of this year. Yes, and your child rented an apartment in the same building as Dukin's daughter, so, typically dundaughter, and

spied on her and like. The month before the killing, UM, the the FSB released a purported passport photo of the Ukrainian citizen, as well as a footage that allegedly showed her in Russia with many people, including Ukrainian officials and kind of data analysts and like disinformation researchers, pointing out the various ways that that the document seems forged or

digitally fabricated. Um, and some landy also says that this National Republican Army Group is completely made up, because there's there's there's no way that there could be a terrorist group like this. There's like an actual group active that's not infiltrated by the by the FSB right now. Um, just like, he's like, you're like not, like people can do individual acts of terrorism, but have like a like a big group like this, comprised of like former Russian officials.

He's like, that's just impossible, that's just not that's just not gonna happen. Um, no, I I agree with all of that. Um. Honestly, one reason why someone involved in the Russian security state is plausible is because this was

such a good bombing. It's it's I'm leaning whoever it is, because the CIA is also, like, I'm leaning towards it's it's a state actor, or because, like, fucking bombs are hard to make, especially almost close to zero percent of the time when an independent terrorist group makes a bomb, does it work the way it's meant to. And like this. This wasn't even ignition based this blew up as she was driving on the highway. So people, if they as it was. Yeah, like it could have been like heat activated.

It's it could have had like a timer based on ignition stuff. But like whatever mechanism that got to that they got it to blow up is more complicated than your average car bomb and it was way more successful in your average car bomb. So it's like it's it's bizarre how good they were at doing this. Yeah, and like I think it's worth mentioning like, like there was a time where you could just, if you needed to make up car bomb, like you could hire a guy who teach you how to make a car bomb. Like

we don't live in that error anymore. Like that like in the seventies you could plausibly do that, right, although, if that's a kind of training you want to offer for people to help try to take out Alexander again. To sponsor our podcast. Yeah, we're. Yeah, our our podcast sponsored by Becca Valley to Becca harder. I do believe that I have this one source here that that it's they.

The FSP claimed that the bomb was either made of or equivalent to, five hundred grams of t n t, which is no. That seems like, which is complete bullshit. But it's just like you used in Oregon to get rid of a whale. But that's but that's just one of the statements that that's like, that's one of the statements that that the FSB has made on this, that it's five d grabs of t n t, which is just not true. Like that's just how bombs work. Um,

so now we're gonna get to something. We're gonna WE'RE gonna close off here by talking about the aftermath and the televised funeral of because, because, because it's kind of funny. So family friends, dozens of colleagues and acquaintances of Daria Dugina got together live on TV on the Tuesday after after after her death to bid their final farewell to the, quote unquote, journalist killed in the carbomb attack outside of Moscow. That's quoting from tasks, one of the one of the

Russian state funded media outlets. Um, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna read a quote from Alexander Dukan, who this is something he said on the televised funeral. Quote. She had no fear, really, and the last time we talked was at the festival tradition. She said, Daddy, I feel like a warrior, I feel like a hero. I want to be with my country, I want to be on the light side of the force. She's with a lot of Russian people now, with about other Russians right now.

I just love that, like saying that his daughter walked up to her and said, Daddy, I want to be on the light side of the force. She's like in her mid thirties. Like what I mean? A significant chunk of her body mass was converted into light. I just I just, I just said that. I I don't know. I just think it's a really funny thing that that Ducan was saying on this televised funeral. Just a bizarre quote. Um, he also said that he wanted to bring up his

daughter the way that he saw the ideal person to be. Saying, quote, the first words that we taught her as a child were Russia, our state, our people and our empire. Unquote. Again, none of this is true. Like, he's just a weird thing to say. It's your daughter's funeral. No, you gotta look. Look, he got daughter. It's like any other kind of investment, right, like, and she's been exploded you gotta get as much as you can, like really it's like ringing out a towel,

you know. Uh, you gotta just make that last little bit count. And then, uh, Vladimir Putin, a few days after, after the assassination, signed a decree to to award her with the order of courage post posthumously. So she she did. She did explode courageously. So, yeah, that is that. That's assassination of Dugan's daughter. It's wild because we don't really actually know. We don't we don't really know who actually did it. We we we don't know much about the

actual event. We're unsure of the actual the actual like ignition of the bomb, how the bomb actually operated. Who Actually did it? I mean obviously, like this, whether whether Dugan himself was a target or was specifically Um Daria Dugina. Um. Now, obviously this was like heavily planned based off of her and Dugan's schedule, right, because they were both openly going

to be at this fashion cultural festivation. have access. Yeah, but, like, you know, like it did require, like, you know, people were tracking their movements, being like, oh, Dugan's gonna be at this festival on this day. Um, it's like it's there is a lot of like background work that went into this and it's fascinating that we just we actually know very little about who who may have done this

and how and how the bomb actually operated. The primary clue we have is just how good the bomb was, which which means one way or the other, a nation state actor probably, but that does not really narrow it much. So yeah, that was that was again one of the assassinations that happened shortly after we planned assassination week. I feel like it's what like man like easily our most

successful PR campaign. It's it's just so wild to think like how close Dugan was to die, because remember, like he was planning to leave in that same car and then at the last minute, decided to take separate vehicles. So was he behind her when it went off? Like yeah, yeah, that's why we got that great photo walking up to

the site. Would you point this out to like you then actually been like five grams at t and t like he would have still been when he walked up to it, like we were picture of him going, Oh my God, and then just his face would explode. But not mean like a lot of conspiracy theories have popped up being like well, Dugan was supposed to be in that car and then he left last minute. Maybe he

was in on it. Maybe, like maybe, you know, the Russian state told him this was going to happen and he and he just let it happen and it was doing it for like this pr thing and like, who knows, like, like maybe maybe Dugan didn't know that this was going to happen like like this. This no way to like, you're just, you're just, you're just speculating at that point.

We're just creating theories in your own head. But it is, it is kind of funny that that Dugan almost was in that car and then it wasn't, and that is, uh, that is that is, at the very least, an interesting aspect of this assassination. Um, but it's no evidence for one specific thing right now. It could just be like, Oh, I'm gonna make a stop somewhere on my way back home right like so I'm gonna take this, I'm gonna

take this other vehicle, like it could. There's so many other possible reasons for why he may have switched cars, Um, but it is, it's it's another it is another like thing to that that the people are are turning into various theories. Yeah, I think I'll say about that. It was like you have to have a lot of faith in your bomb maker to drive behind a car bomb, like intentionally, like you've got to be really like, and I don't or you really hate your daughter in a

way that's very reckless. Yeah, but you could just like turn off the highway or something, or like, oh no, my car broke down, I need to make sure that Venus down. You gotta drop her, you've got to press the big plunger into the box. Yeah, well, at least we're ending on a high note. Yeah, yeah, I do like that. I'm started. We started assassination week with a car bomb and we're ending it with TNT. She declared

the nearest church. No doubt. It's like it's like poetry at rhyme's and I want to be on the light side of the force. Quote. Fine, what are the according to do again? What are the last things Daria Dukin said? I want to be on the light side of the force. Somebody, if there were real journalists left in the world, somebody would reach out to George Lucas and just try to get a quote and you're not, don't email him. It's like just go to a mall near skywalker ranch and

wait until he goes to the sparrow. You'll find him, all right. That doesn't for us today. Check under your driver's side door. If you're Alexander to a in. I imagine if he wasn't if if he wasn't involved, if he wasn't aware of this, he is going to be looking over his shoulder like nonstop. Now man who's never got into a car, he hasn't like shimmied under. He had to look under every car he gets into. It's so funny. Ah, we'd like to see it anyway. Alright,

we're done. It could happen here is a production of cool zone media. For more podcasts from cool zone media, visit our website, cool zone media DOT COM, or check us out on the I heart radio APP, apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find sources for it could happen here, updated monthly at cool zone media dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.