London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jan 19, 2026

Darya Trepova: What we know about accused in Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky's killing

Darya Trepova: What we know about accused in Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky's killing

The detention of Darya Trepova for the murder of Russian pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky has raised questions about the young woman's background and politics.

Russia media reports say Ms Trepova, 26, handed Tatarsky a statuette which was believed to contain the explosives that killed him and injured more than 30 people. Later in a video released by the Russian Interior Ministry, she is seen admitting she brought the statuette to the cafe where the blast took place.

However, her statement was most likely obtained under duress, and she does not say whether she knew about the explosives.

Russian officials say the act of terror, as the killing is now being described, was planned and organised from the territory of Ukraine, and that the suspect is a supporter of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), headed by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

But friends and family say that while she was an anti-war activist - she was reportedly detained at a protest at the start of the war - her views were not radical and she was not capable of murder.

Her husband Dmitry Rylov suggests she may have been duped.

So what do we know about Darya Trepova?

A picture from a social media profile of Darya Trepova


An acquaintance told the BBC that she went to school in the town of Pushkin outside St Petersburg, adding that she "didn't seem to have any political views then".

Other sources say she later enrolled at St Petersburg state university, though it is not clear at what faculty, and she is not believed to have finished her course.

According to another friend, she worked for a long time at a vintage clothes shop in the city, but left her job a month ago to move to Moscow.

It is not clear how long she has been married to Mr Rylov.

In an interview for the Agentstvo telegram channel, friends of Ms Trepova said that their marriage was a "joke" and they were really just friends.

But some reports say the pair were both arrested at an anti-war rally on 24 February last year, at the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

Ms Trepova was detained for 10 days, apparently for ignoring police requests for the crowd to disperse.

Mr Rylov is said to be a member of a small fringe opposition group called the Libertarian Party, which was involved in the demonstrations. The party said he had emigrated.

It also told the Telegram channel SOTA that Ms Trepova had no connection to the party, and that it condemned Tatarsky's killing.

Some reports say Mr Rylov is also wanted in connection with the killing.

He told SVTV News that she could not have willingly committed murder. "I believe that my wife was duped," he said.

"Yes, it's true that neither of us support the war in Ukraine, but we believe that such acts are impermissible.

"I'm 100% sure that she would never have agreed to anything like this if she had known about it."

Reports say Russian investigators have not ruled out the possibility that Ms Trepova did not know what was in the statuette.

Also, Russian media said the young woman had been in correspondence with Tatarsky - the victim of the cafe blast - and had attended previous events he was involved in.

Darya Trepova's details were added to the interior ministry's wanted list hours before she was detained

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
Meghan Markle May Return to the U.K. This Summer as Security Review Advances
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
OpenAI to Begin Advertising in ChatGPT in Strategic Shift to New Revenue Model
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
×