Russian dissident Garry Kasparov cancels Berlin trip over assassination threat, saying officials have let Putin turn Europe into a playground

Source: Bild

Garry Kasparov, a Russian opposition figure and the 13th world chess champion, canceled a trip to Berlin after security services warned of a possible threat to his life, the German tabloid Bild reported.

Kasparov was scheduled to speak at Berlin Freedom Week. Instead, he recorded a video address for participants, in which he acknowledged reports that Russia was trying to kill him. He said security professionals had strongly advised him against traveling to Berlin because the trip would be an unjustifiable risk under the circumstances.

Kasparov also criticized European authorities for not doing enough to counter the Russian government, accusing European politicians of letting Europe become a playground for Vladimir Putin. If Putin could reach him there, Kasparov warned, he could reach anyone.

In late September, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that Russian authorities had spent several months planning to kill Kasparov in the United States. U.S. authorities also said they had uncovered a five-person group preparing assassination attempts against Russian “dissidents” on Moscow’s orders.

From Meduza’s archives

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Russian dissident Garry Kasparov cancels Berlin trip over assassination threat, saying officials have let Putin turn Europe into a playground

From Meduza’s archives

U.S. uncovers network that plotted assassinations of Russian ‘dissidents’ in Washington and Vilnius. Among the suspects: an ex-colonel with Putin ties, his FSB officer son, and a Cuban dancer.

‘The most likely explanation’At least three Russian journalists and activists appear to have been poisoned abroad since fall 2022

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Russian dissident Garry Kasparov cancels Berlin trip over assassination threat, saying officials have let Putin turn Europe into a playground

From Meduza’s archives

U.S. uncovers network that plotted assassinations of Russian ‘dissidents’ in Washington and Vilnius. Among the suspects: an ex-colonel with Putin ties, his FSB officer son, and a Cuban dancer.

‘The most likely explanation’At least three Russian journalists and activists appear to have been poisoned abroad since fall 2022

Poisonings and break-insInvestigative journalists report multiple attacks abroad against Russian oppositionists in the months ahead of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Berlin Freedom Week

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