Blast that killed Russian war blogger: What we know so far

Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in an attack allegedly from an improvised explosive device that also injured 30.

A café in the historical center of the Russian city of St. Petersburg was rocked by an explosion on Sunday that killed prominent war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky and injured 30 people. According to emergency services, an improvised explosive device was detonated in the café. RT has gathered what is known about the incident so far.

What happened?

An explosion hit the ‘Street Bar 1’ café in St. Petersburg on Sunday. The health ministry confirmed that one person was killed and another 30 people suffered various injuries, with 24 of the victims hospitalized, some in critical condition. The deceased was identified as prominent Russian war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky.

A video that caught the moment of the blast showed a detonation wave so powerful that it caused the café’s façade to collapse, with 15 square meters of the glazing destroyed. TASS reported, citing emergency services, that the suspected improvised explosive device was equivalent to around 200 grams of TNT and was packed with shrapnel.

Where and when did it happen?

The ‘Street Bar 1’ café is located in the historical center of St. Petersburg, on Universitetskaya Embankment, just across the Neva River from the iconic Admiralty building and the office of the Russian Constitutional Court.

The venue was hosting an event at which Tatarsky was giving a talk and meeting with followers. It is unclear how many people were in attendance. Videos that surfaced on social media showed dozens of people standing in a state of shock outside the café in the immediate aftermath of the blast.

Bombing in St Petersburg. An event was held by the correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky. He presumably died, there are more victims.
One of the guests snuck a bomb in a figurine and handed it over to him.
-> To be clear this is a USIS style terror attack, as simple as that … not more. pic.twitter.com/PyHbhLC5SS

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) April 2, 2023

What are officials saying?

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case over the incident, preliminary treated as a “murder in a publicly dangerous way.” The law enforcement agency said in a statement that an “unidentified improvised explosive device” was detonated at the scene. The police confirmed Tatarsky’s death, but details of the incident are still being investigated.

The probe was taken under “special control” of the Committee’s Central Office in Moscow. A group of specialists from the Committee’s Central Forensics Department has been deployed to the scene, the statement added.

Who is Vladlen Tatarsky?

Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maksim Fomin, gained prominence in Russia as a blogger and war correspondent amid the Ukraine conflict. A Donbass native, he joined the local militias in the wake of the Maidan coup in Kiev back in 2014, where he served until 2019.

Tatarsky regularly reported on the battlefield developments in Donbass and also authored several books. This past January, Kiev placed sanctions on him.

What else is known?

Multiple witnesses told Russian media that in the course of the event a young woman from the audience presented Tatarsky with a statuette. The explosion allegedly happened just minutes later.

A video that surfaced on social media showed Tatarsky and another man handling what appears to be a large bust. Kirill Makarov, the youth policy minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, who personally knew Tatarsky, also said that an improvised explosive device might have been disguised as a statuette.

The Russian authorities have not commented on these reports. TASS, citing an emergency services source, reported that an improvised explosive device might have been detonated near the stage where Tatarsky was speaking.