In brief
Former chess world champion Garry Kasparov says he was alerted by U.S. and Lithuanian security agencies that his life was at risk as part of a Kremlin‑linked hit‑list. The warning came after a Justice Department indictment named five alleged operatives orchestrating attacks on Russian dissidents abroad. Kasparov added that he and fellow exile Ivan Tyutrin were under heightened protection for the first time since moving to the United States. The revelation underscores the growing reach of Russian covert operations targeting opponents overseas.
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov reported that U.S. and Lithuanian security services had warned him, and another exile, Ilya Ponomarev, that their lives were in danger.
The comment follows the Justice Department’s unsealing of an indictment against five individuals alleged to operate a Kremlin‑linked “RIS Network” that plans attacks on Russian dissenters worldwide. The indictment named Yuri Khrameev, Kirill Khrameev, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro.
In his publication, The Next Move, Kasparov wrote that he was not told explicitly that he and co-founder of the Free Russia Forum, Ivan Tyutrin, were targets, but that both had been warned about their safety. He added that he would not hide, even if it seemed possible, and that he and his family were never truly safe as long as President Vladimir Putin remained in power.
Kasparov left Russia in 2013 after founding movements openly opposing Putin, and has not returned. The Russian government has labelled him a foreign agent since 2022 and added him to a terrorist and extremist list in 2024, claims he denies.
Ponomarev, the only MP to vote against the annexation of Crimea in 2014, has also been an outspoken critic of the Kremlin. He declined to confirm or deny whether he had received a warning, but said the indictment marked a “new level of escalation” by Russia.
