Former chess champion Garry Kasparov says he was warned by U.S. security services of a looming threat to his life after the Justice Department unsealed an indictment of Kremlin operatives plotting murders worldwide.
The indictment names five alleged members of a covert “RIS Network” who allegedly recruited Americans and foreigners to carry out killings on behalf of Moscow, targeting dissidents such as Kasparov and former MP Ilya Ponomarev.
Kasparov wrote on his Substack that neither he nor Free Russia Forum co‑founder Ivan Tyutrin were explicitly identified as targets, but both were told to take precautions for their safety. According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, he received a warning in the summer and was placed under enhanced protection – the first time since fleeing Russia in 2013.
He added, “I will not stop and I will not hide, even if I thought it was possible to do so. My family and I will not truly be safe as long as President Putin is in power in Russia – a circumstance shared by millions.”
Kasparov retired from competitive chess in 2005 to pursue politics, founding movements against Putin before his exile. Russia has labeled him a foreign agent and, in 2024, added him to a list of terrorists and extremists – designations he has rejected.
The other named target, Ilya Ponomarev, was the only MP to vote against the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 before fleeing to Ukraine. He declined to confirm or deny being warned, calling the allegations “a new level of escalation” by Russia.
What the case exposes is a broader pattern of authoritarian intimidation: state‑backed networks that cross borders to silence dissent. Indigenous communities worldwide, who often resist land grabs and cultural erasure, face similar threats and rely on international solidarity to protect their voices.
Kasparov’s warning underscores the urgent need for global mechanisms that shield all dissenting voices—whether political leaders, activists, or native peoples—from covert assassination plots that target them for speaking truth to power.
