Kasparov warned he may be a target of an alleged Russian kill plot.
US and Lithuanian security services warned the former world champion after prosecutors charged five people allegedly working for Russian intelligence. The indictment doesn’t name him.
Garry Kasparov says US and Lithuanian security services warned him his life could be in danger, after American prosecutors charged five people allegedly working for Russian intelligence.
The indictment doesn’t name him. But the former world champion has been told to take precautions, and he and his wife have reportedly been under enhanced protection since the summer.
What the charges allege
The US Justice Department unsealed the case in September. Prosecutors allege a network tied to Russian intelligence tried to recruit people to watch, and in some cases kill, Russian dissidents living abroad, and to sabotage infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine.
According to reports on the indictment, the group allegedly offered about $40,000 for the killing of “Victim-1”, a prominent Russian dissident in the United States, and $25,000 for an attack on “Victim-2” in Lithuania. Neither victim is named.
Five people are charged: former Russian intelligence colonel Yuri Khrameev; his son Kirill Khrameev, described as an officer in Russia’s FSB security service; Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez; and Angel Eduardo Castro, a Venezuelan citizen living in Russia.
All five remain at large. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
What Kasparov says
Kasparov says he was never explicitly told that he is one of the people concealed in the indictment, only that his life could be at risk.
He isn’t backing down. “I will not stop and I will not hide, even if I thought it was possible to do so,” he wrote on his Substack, The Next Move. He added that he and his family “will not truly be safe” as long as Vladimir Putin is in power.
On X, he thanked people for their support and turned attention back to Ukraine:
Of course there are millions of people whose lives are threatened by Russia every day in Ukraine, and Ukrainian victory remains the best form of security for me, my colleagues, and all of Europe.
Garry Kasparov, on X
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, saying he would need to see credible evidence first.
Why Kasparov
Kasparov was world champion from 1985 to 2000 and retired from professional chess in 2005. Since then he has been one of the Kremlin’s most prominent critics, and he has lived outside Russia for more than a decade.
Russia has designated him a “foreign agent” and placed him on its official list of “terrorists and extremists”.
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These are allegations in a US indictment. All five people charged remain at large, and none of the claims have been tested in court. Sources: reporting by the BBC, El Mundo, Kyiv Post and ChessBase; Kasparov’s posts on X and The Next Move.
