Russian Dissident Garry Kasparov Claims US Warned Him of Threat to His Life
BBC News
By Alys Davies
Exiled Russian opposition figure Garry Kasparov living in the US claims he was warned by American and Lithuanian security services that his life was in danger.
Kasparov, former chess world champion and co-founder of the Free Russia Forum, says he was one of two dissidents told to take precautions, which he had done.
His comments come after the US Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging five individuals allegedly linked to the Kremlin with plotting attacks and murders, targeting Russian dissidents and defectors, including those in the US.
Kasparov, in his publication The Next Move, wrote that while not explicitly told he was a target, both him and fellow Free Russia Forum co-founder Ivan Tyutrin had been warned about their safety.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported obtaining information that Kasparov had been warned about the plot over the summer by US authorities, along with another Russian opposition figure, Ilya Ponomarev. They claim Kasparov was placed under enhanced protection for the first time since moving to the US during that period.
Kasparov stated:
"I will not stop and I will not hide, even if I thought it was possible to do so. My family and I will not truly be safe as long as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is in power in Russia – a circumstance shared by millions."
Kasparov retired from competitive chess in 2005 to pursue politics, founding movements opposing Putin before fleeing Russia in 2013. He has not returned since.
Ponomarev, the only Russian MP to vote against Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, declined to confirm or deny the warning, but stated the allegations marked "a new level of escalation" by Russia.
The US Justice Department alleged a network of individuals working for Russian intelligence services has been active since at least 2024, conspiring and conducting attacks and murders globally.
Five individuals have been accused of organizing the plots, all of whom remain at large.