Garry Kasparow (59) was once proud to be world champion for his country. Today, the chess genius from Russia despises President Vladimir Putin (70) and criticizes the war in Ukraine with sharp words.
Kasparov traveled from New York to Zurich this week for a presentation in the financial world, where Blick met him for an interview.
Blick: Herr Kasparow, as a great chess master you can anticipate your opponent’s moves. Can you also say which moves Putin will play in this war?
Garry Kasparov: In chess, there are rules that both sides abide by. Dictators don’t care about rules, except the rules they make themselves, which cannot be predicted.
In your 2015 book Winter Is Coming you wrote that Putin had to be stopped. Why did you know that one day he would go so mad?
He has never made a secret of his desire to restore the Soviet empire and push NATO back to its 1997 borders. You should have just listened to him. He even gathered his troops and invested in the army for everyone. For me it was never a question of whether he would do it, but when.
Garry Kimowitsch Kasparow (59) is described as the strongest chess player that ever existed. He was a world champion for several years and also beat chess computers. Since his retirement in 2005, he has been involved in the fight against the Russian regime, where he has been arrested several times. Kasparov grew up in Azerbaijan and was called Garik Weinstein until his father’s death in 1971. He is married for the third time and father of four children. In 2014 he received Croatian citizenship. He lives in New York. Nowadays he only plays chess for fun.
He has now announced that he is withdrawing from Kherson. Why is he giving up the important city?
It is the last troop that can still fight and that he wants to keep for other battlefields. To buy time, he offers negotiations, but the Ukrainians are never allowed to participate in them.
How do you think the war will end?
Either with the destruction of Ukraine or with its liberation. Personally, I am convinced that Ukraine will be victorious next year and win the war.
There have been repeated attacks on supply trains in Russia. How big is the resistance in Russia?
I can not tell.
Is there resistance in the Kremlin?
As long as the war is not clearly lost, hardly. But Putin will face serious problems once the Ukrainians cross the border into Crimea.
The Kremlin is not gentle with opponents. Are you afraid that Putin will take revenge on you?
At certain events where there are a lot of people, such as book signings, I arrange for security personnel to be hired. I also avoid traveling to certain countries, such as Turkey, Cyprus or Hungary.
Why are you afraid of the EU country Hungary?
Can the Orban regime be trusted? I’m not sure if one was planned on me and knowing it would prevent an attack. I travel alone to countries where Putin is not welcome.
Putin influences the Russians with propaganda. What do your friends in Russia actually know about the war in Ukraine?
My Russian friends are either in exile, in prison or dead. Many Russians believe what Putin says, but hundreds of thousands have left the country for fear of being sent to Ukraine like cannon fodder.
What is the impact of the sanctions?
Enormous. Especially when it comes to weapons production. Russia is highly dependent on foreign products.
The Russian people, who have nothing to do with the war, are also affected by the sanctions. How fair is that?
One must distinguish between these restrictions and the suffering Ukrainians have to endure because of the Russians. Russia committed genocide in Ukraine.
Are all Russians responsible for the war?
I don’t want to judge anyone. But I myself feel complicit in not having been able to stop Putin for 20 years.
What influence does China have on Russia?
China makes it clear that it has no interest in a war. Even a losing dictator does not interest China.
Is the Kremlin stopping nuclear weapons because of China?
That should be a factor. However, Putin’s people also know very well that in the event of a nuclear attack, they must reckon with a reaction from the United States. The Russian generals do not want to endanger themselves and their wives.
During the war, Putin receives support from dark characters. What do you think of the Chechen leader Kadyrov and the head of the Wagner group Prigozhin?
Kadyrov can now quench his bloodlust in Ukraine, and the strong position of Prigozhin and his parallel army shows that Putin is far from having everything under control.
Is there any possibility that one of these warmongers will become Putin’s successor?
You can’t run a state with the military and violence.
You once proposed your friend Mikhail Khodorkovsky as the new president and successor to Putin…
At the moment, it is not a question of who should run the state, but how it should be run. Mikhail is working on a draft of how to reorganize Russia.
What should a new Russia look like?
It needs a stable government where the West can lift the sanctions. A new Moscow must prove that the war in Ukraine was the last war of the Russian Empire and the expansion will be stopped.
The Federal Council has banned Germany from supplying Swiss-made tank ammunition to Ukraine. What do you make of it?
This is more than wrong. You cannot be neutral in a war like this where civilians are killed. Any country that can help must help.
How else should Switzerland help?
War is not just about ammunition, it is also about money. Switzerland could help find hidden Russian money and give it to Ukraine for reconstruction. It is time for Switzerland to decide whether it will continue to pretend to be neutral or whether it will side with the civilized world in the fight against absolute evil.