May 08, 2023

Pro-war Journalist Targeted, Again


Pro-war Journalist Targeted, Again
The car of Zakhar Prilepin after the explosion. Povyornutye na Z voine, Telegram.

Pro-War journalist, writer, and politician Zakhar Prilepin's car exploded near Nizhny Novgorod while returning from the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk. Prilepin's bodyguard, a former member of Russian battalions in Luhansk, Alexander Shubin, died, while the 47-year-old author was critically injured. Prilepin's daughter, who was also in the car, got out before the bomb exploded.

After leaving his job as a riot police officer for OMON (Special Purpose Mobile Unit), Prilepin joined a Nizhny Novgorod newspaper as a staff writer. Then, he published several acclaimed novels. Yet the author's oeuvre also includes the antisemitic essay published in 2012, "A Letter to Comrade Stalin."

Prilepin openly boasted of killing Ukrainians while volunteering as a soldier in Donetsk in 2017. Consequently, he was declared a terrorist by the Ukrainian government. A founder of the "For Truth" party, he has supported Russia's War on Ukraine since day one. 

The attack echoes that on pro-Kremlin journalist Darya Dugina in 2022. A bomb was planted on Prilepin's car while the politician was grabbing lunch with his bodyguard. 

Police have detained a suspect in Nizhny Novgorod. According to Izvestia, the man recently acquired Russian citizenship, but it has not been confirmed whether he is originally from Ukraine. Atesh, a military movement of Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, and Russians, has claimed responsibility for the bombing via Telegram.

Meanwhile, Prilepin had announced he was running for president in 2024, raising eyebrows at the Kremlin. 

 

You Might Also Like

Kara-Murza Sentenced to 25 Years
  • April 17, 2023

Kara-Murza Sentenced to 25 Years

Journalist and democratic activist Vladimir Kara-Murza has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for telling the truth.
Masha, The War Criminal
  • March 22, 2023

Masha, The War Criminal

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova. Who is she?
Airwaves Hacked, Again
  • March 12, 2023

Airwaves Hacked, Again

A new hack into Russian radio and television stations reveals a vulnerable spot in the nation's airwaves.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955