Russian ultranationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin, a strong supporter of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was injured on Saturday May 6 in the explosion of his car in the Nizhny Novgorod region in central Russia, a informed the Russian Interior Ministry.
“According to preliminary information, one person was killed by the explosion, and the writer Zakhar Prilepin, who was in the car, was injured,” the ministry’s press service said in a statement, adding a little later that a man “who might be linked to the explosion” had been arrested not far from the scene.
In a statement, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced the opening of an investigation for “terrorist act”, specifying that it was the driver of the writer who had been killed in the attack and that At the time of the explosion, the perpetrator was in his car “with his family”.
Moscow blames the West and Ukraine
A photo from the scene of the incident, released by the Investigation Committee, shows a white vehicle with the front end shredded and overturned on its roof, in front of a crater on a dirt road, in a wooded area. Anonymous medical and security sources, quoted by Russian news agencies, claim that the writer was injured in the legs. “Zakhar has minor fractures, there is no danger to his life,” the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, where the writer is from, assured on Telegram.
Shortly after news broke of the explosion, Russia accused the United States, NATO and Ukraine of plotting a “terrorist” attack against the writer. “Washington, together with NATO, has nurtured a new cell of international terrorism – the Kiev regime, reacted the spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, on Telegram. Direct responsibility of the United States and Great Britain. We pray for Zakhar. »
Advocate of the “purge” against those who do not support the offensive
Figure of the Russian literary scene, translated in many countries, also a politician, the 47-year-old writer committed himself in 2014 in favor of the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, alongside whom he fought . Since then, this veteran of the Chechen wars in the 1990s has regularly traveled to eastern Ukraine and defended President Vladimir Putin and his large-scale offensive against Ukraine, launched on February 24, 2022. Very present in the Russian media, he also actively participates in patriotic and traditionalist movements in Russia.
In August 2022, Zakhar Prilepin formed a think tank in the Russian Parliament aimed at excluding artists from cultural life who did not support “Special Military Operation” in official terminology, dubbed “GRAD” for “Investigation Group on anti-Russian activities in the field of culture”. At its first meeting in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, this group’s agenda was clear: to “purge the cultural space” of all individuals who, actively or passively, did not support the military invasion of Ukraine by Russia since February 24.
Attacks on Russian soil are increasing
In recent weeks, drone strikes, acts of sabotage and alleged attacks have multiplied on Russian territory. The Kremlin accuses Kiev, while a vast counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces is looming and large celebrations of May 9 are to be held in Russia – the day of celebration of the victory against Nazi Germany. The program of these commemorations has however been largely revised downwards or even simply canceled for security reasons in several Russian or occupied cities and regions of Ukraine.
At the beginning of April, an influential military blogger, Vladlen Tatarski – whose real name is Maxim Fomin –, a fierce supporter of the attack in Ukraine, was killed in the explosion of a statuette trapped in a cafe in the center of Saint Petersburg. At the end of August, Daria Dougina, an ardent defender of the offensive in Ukraine and daughter of the ultranationalist ideologue Alexandre Douguine, died in a car explosion in the Moscow region.
Supporting video images, Russia also claimed to have shot down two Ukrainian drones which targeted the Kremlin overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, denouncing an assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin. An accusation rejected by kyiv.