In brief
Garry Kasparov, a prominent Russian dissident and former world chess champion, has revealed that U.S. and Lithuanian security services warned him his life was in danger after a Justice Department indictment targeted Kremlin agents plotting attacks worldwide. Kasparov said he and a co‑founder of the Free Russia Forum were advised to take precautions, though they were not named as explicit targets. He vowed to continue his opposition campaign, stating his family would remain unsafe under Vladimir Putin’s rule. The indictment lists five alleged operatives of a Russian intelligence network now at large. The case underscores increasing threats against Russian critics abroad.
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, now a leading voice in Russian exile politics, said U.S. and Lithuanian security agencies warned him that his life was at risk.
Kasparov revealed that the warning was issued after the U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal case this month against five alleged Kremlin agents accused of plotting attacks and murders of Russian opposition figures worldwide.
He confessed that he and a co‑founder of the Free Russia Forum were told to take precautions, though they were not formally named as a target.
Kasparov added that despite the danger, he would continue his campaign, saying his family would never be safe as long as Vladimir Putin remained in power.
He left Russia in 2013 and has since refused to return, after the Kremlin classified him as a foreign agent, terrorist and extremist.
The indictment lists five individuals believed to operate a global “Russian Intelligence Service” network aimed at silencing critics, with the case still pending and all suspects at large.
