A woman named Darya Trepova has gone on trial in St. Petersburg, Russia for her alleged involvement in a bombing at a local cafe. The blast occurred on April 2 and resulted in the death of a prominent Russian military blogger named Vladlen Tatarsky, as well as injuries to 52 others. Trepova, who is 26 years old, is facing charges of carrying out a terrorist attack, illegal trafficking of explosive devices, and forging documents.
According to Russian news reports, Trepova was arrested shortly after the bombing and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Tatarsky, who was 40 at the time of his death, was known for his support of the Kremlin’s military action in Ukraine and regularly reported on the ongoing conflict. He was given a bust of himself before the explosion occurred, and Trepova was seen on video presenting him with the gift at the cafe where he was leading a discussion.
Russian media has reported that Trepova claimed to investigators that she was asked to deliver the statuette but was unaware of its contents. Another individual, 27-year-old Dmitry Kasintsev, is also standing trial in connection with the bombing. Although he is under house arrest, authorities have charged him with concealing a grave crime because Trepova had stayed in his apartment after the blast.
Russian authorities have accused Ukrainian intelligence agencies of orchestrating the bombing, although officials in Kyiv have not directly responded to the allegation. An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referred to the incident as part of Russia’s internal turmoil. The Federal Security Service (FSB) in Russia claimed that a Ukrainian citizen named Yuriy Denysov provided Trepova with explosives through a courier service, acting on orders from the Ukrainian security services.
Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was a military blogger with a large following on his Telegram messaging app channel. He had joined separatist forces in eastern Ukraine and fought on the front lines before transitioning to blogging. In recent years, military bloggers have played an increasingly influential role in Russia, supporting the government but also criticizing military leadership and exposing flaws within the system. Unlike independent media or opposition figures, they have not faced any crackdown for their critical views.
The FSB has alleged that Trepova was a supporter of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. They also claimed that Navalny’s top allies, Ivan Zhdanov and Leonid Volkov, have repeatedly called for subversive activities in Russia. Zhdanov has suggested that authorities could use the explosion to extend Navalny’s prison sentence. Navalny is currently serving a 19-year term in a penal colony east of Moscow after being convicted on extremism charges, which he believes are false.
In a letter to a local news outlet, Trepova claimed that she was asked by a journalist and a military blogger she knew to attend Tatarsky’s speaking engagements as part of a journalistic investigation. She stated that she had no knowledge that it would lead to a deadly explosion and did not disclose the identity of the journalist in her letter. Trepova expressed her disbelief and the emotional difficulty she has experienced since the incident occurred.
