Moscow: The daughter of a close aide of Russian President Vladimir Putin was allegedly murdered near Moscow. According to local media, when Darya Dugin was on her way home, she died when her car was blown up in a blast.

It is being suspected by the security agencies that the attack was aimed at her father, Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, who is also known as ‘Putin’s brain’.

Darya Dugin was 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 burning wreckage. However, this footage could not be independently verified.

Death in car explosion

An unidentified law enforcement officer confirmed to the RIA news agency that a car had caught fire on a highway in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region, but gave no 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’.

Darya Dugin was a journalist and political commentator

The Russian 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 had 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.