Garry Kasparov, Multiple World Chess Champion, Politician and Public Figure
I think that Russian authorities will be able to push through this farcical election cycle. But afterward, even Russians who are far removed from the opposition will wonder about their own future and that of their children. And the answers to their questions will be heard in the form of the harshest accusations against the current regime.
The world is on the verge of great economic turmoil. It is clear that Putin's Russia is absolutely unprepared for the challenges of these times. Therefore, the forecast should be for the next 12-15 months and not the next 12 years. I think the reference point will be February 2013. The global crisis will gain momentum at this time. Adjustments to oil prices are possible. Markets will fall. Most likely, the ruble will continue to lose value. In this case, I'm afraid that the analogy with Egypt might be too weak. There is no doubt that Putin would give orders to fire on his own people. He is ready to fight and spill blood because he has nowhere to go. The question is whether there are enough people willing to resist.
Therefore, the opposition should realize that parallel alternatives must be created. Today, there are several interesting projects related to the creation of alternative Internet spaces and online independent television outlets. We just have to distance ourselves from this government and build our own. We need to build links between the hundreds of thousands of people who are ready to do something, but who are still in a vacuum. They must be linked together via horizontal networks that will, in time, save the country from the inevitable collapse of the regime. Russia should not perish along with the Putin regime, but unfortunately, the likelihood of such a catastrophic scenario increases every day.
People who are active, hold a clearly defined position, and who are ready to act as free citizens could quickly create a qualitatively different situation in Russia. So the answer to the question of what happens during the regime's death throes depends on the willingness of many people to take part in these changes.
Garry Kasparov was born in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1963 and graduated from the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages. Kasparov was brilliant in chess from a young age and later became an apprentice of the 6th world chess champion Mikhail Botvinnik. In 1985, Kasparov won his first world championship title in a match against Anatoly Karpov and became the youngest champion in the history of gaming. From 1984 to 2005, he consistently topped the world chess rankings. Eight-time Olympic champion and winner of 11 chess “Oscars” (prizes for the best chess player of year), Kasparov was the first person to play chess against a supercomputer. He was also the first and only winner in a simultaneous timed match against nine national Olympic teams. He is the author of over 20 books.
In 2005, Kasparov ended his chess career to devote himself to politics and has participated in a number of opposition movements: he is the chairman of the United Civil Front, one of the co-chairmen of the All-Russian Civil Congress, and a member of the Russian Federation’s National Assembly. In November 2007, Kasparov was detained for five days for participating in an unsanctioned demonstration. Amnesty International condemned the actions of Russian law enforcement agencies, recognized Kasparov as a prisoner of conscience, and demanded his immediate release. In 2008, he founded the federal council of the united democratic opposition movement called “Solidarity.” In 2010, he co-wrote “Putin Must Go,” a political declaration of the Russian opposition. Garry Kasparov is one of the most prominent leaders of the opposition to the existing political regime.
