Russia has placed 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 Wednesday by AFP.
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, from where he continues to denounce Russian power and its military campaign in Ukraine.
Already designated as a “foreign agent” by Russia
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 and which subjects them to heavy administrative procedures in Russia. Most of the major opponents remaining 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.