While Alexander Dugin is not a state official himself, he is nevertheless a symbolic figure in Russian politics.
His anti-Western, ultranationalist philosophy has become the dominant political ideology in Russia and has helped shape President Putin's expansionist foreign policy, most prominently on Ukraine.
Attention will now turn to who was behind this attack. Denis Pushilin, the "head" of the self-declared pro-Russian "Donetsk People's Republic", has already laid the blame on Ukraine, writing on Telegram "Vile villains! The terrorists of the Ukrainian regime, trying to eliminate Alexander Dugin, blew up his daughter… In a car. We cherish the memory of Daria, she is a real Russian girl!"
Incidents like this will make officials in Moscow nervous, especially in the aftermath of a series of explosions and attacks in occupied Crimea and in Russian regions near the border with Ukraine.
Kremlin propaganda consistently stresses how Vladimir Putin has brought security and stability in Russia following the turbulent 1990s, when car bombs and assassinations were commonplace.
This car bomb in the Russian capital undermines that narrative.
Despite not holding an official position in government, Ms Dugina's father is believed to be a close ally of the Russian president and has even been branded "Putin's Rasputin".
The philosopher's daughter, Darya Dugina, was herself a prominent journalist who vocally supported the invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this year she was sanctioned by US and UK authorities, who accused the 30-year-old of contributing to online "disinformation" in relation to Russia's invasion.
In May, she described the war as a "clash of civilisations"
in an interview and expressed pride in the fact that both she and her father had been sanctioned by the West.
Alexander Dugin was sanctioned by the US in 2015 for his alleged involvement in the Russian annexation of Crimea.
His writings are credited with having a deep influence on Vladimir Putin's worldview and he is considered to be a chief intellectual architect of the ultra-nationalist ideology adhered to by many in the Kremlin.
For years, Mr Dugin has called on Moscow to assert itself more aggressively on the global stage and has supported Russian military action in Ukraine.