Putin, the New Grand Master: Russia claims Garry Kasparov is a “terrorist!”
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Trust President Vladimir Putin to do the unthinkable. Now his government has put chess legend Garry Kasparov on Moscow’s list of “terrorists and extremists!”
The 60-year-old former world chess champion, who now lives in the US, has been a longtime critic of President Putin and has repeatedly spoken out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the media reported on Thursday.
Moscow’s Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial watchdog, which claimed Kasparov is a political activist, added him to its list of “terrorists and extremists” on Wednesday. This body is responsible for combatting money laundering and terror financing, and those listed can have their bank accounts seized.
It did not clarify why it added the Soviet-born Kasparov to the list. The Kremlin often terms those who disagree with its offensive in Ukraine as “extremists” or “foreign agents.”
Kasparov joked about the label on X, formerly Twitter: “An honor that says more about Putin’s fascist regime than about me.”
“As Goldwater said, extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue! But all opposition, or simple decency, must be called an extremist by the dictatorship. https://t.co/OuN27A9InN.” Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) March 6, 2024.
Kasparov is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest chess players and has lived in the United States for over a decade, where he has focused on political activism.
In February 2023, he urged the West to keep up its support for Kyiv and said Ukraine had to defeat Moscow as a “pre-condition” for a democratic transition in Russia.
