Russia has placed the exiled opponent and former chess champion, Garry Kasparov, on its list of people declared “terrorists and extremists”, according to a notice from the Russian financial intelligence service consulted on Wednesday March 6 by Agence France- Press.
Born in 1963 in Soviet Azerbaijan, Garry Kasparov was one of the greatest chess players in history before becoming a fierce opponent of Vladimir Putin. In 2013, fearing legal action, he left Russia and now lives in the United States, where he continues to denounce Russian power and its military campaign in Ukraine.
After the death of Alexei Navalny in prison on February 16, Mr. Kasparov implicated the Russian president in the “assassination” of the Russian opponent. “Putin failed to kill Navalny quickly and secretly by having him poisoned, and now he has murdered him slowly and publicly in prison,” he posted on the social network X. “Navalny was killed for exposing the crooks and the thieves that are Putin and his mafia,” he added.
Designated “foreign agent” in 2022
In 2022, Garry Kasparov had already been designated a “foreign agent” in Russia, an infamous label massively used against opponents, journalists and human rights activists, which subjects them to heavy administrative procedures in Russia. Most of the major opponents who remained in Russia are imprisoned. The others ended up going into exile.
Garry Kasparov is famous for his long duel in the 1980s with another Soviet chess legend, Anatoly Karpov, who later supported Vladimir Putin and became a deputy in the Russian president’s party.