Ukraine-Russia war: Garry Kasparov's take on Vladimir Putin is worth listening to – Scotsman comment

Garry Kasparov is famous as one of the greatest chess players of all time.

The Russian grandmaster’s political career and commitment to human rights are less well known, but it is perhaps time for the world to start taking him more seriously when it comes to the threats posed by Vladimir Putin.

His book, Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped, published in 2015, the year after Russia annexed Crimea, was a wake-up call that too many ignored.

Now Kasparov, who is chairman of the Human Rights Foundation and once attempted to stand against Putin in Russia’s presidential elections, has warned that the West’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is only making Putin stronger and more dangerous.

“I was called a warmonger in 2014 when I said Putin would not stop with Crimea and East Ukraine. Now everyone admits that I was right, but wants to repeat the same mistake now. Letting Putin destroy Ukraine increases the threat of a greater conflict, including nuclear,” he said. “The West loves to lose slowly, to pass the hard choices to the next administration, shift the consequences to buffer states.”

Kasparov’s prescience about Putin’s intentions does not mean he is necessarily right about this, but it does mean he is worth listening to.

If the West refuses to get involved more directly in the defence of Ukraine – for fear of sparking a nuclear war – then its alternative must be up to the task of ensuring that Putin’s regime does not emerge stronger but instead is fatally undermined.

Garry Kasparov warned for years of the threat posed by Vladimir Putin (Picture: Carlos Costa/AFP via Getty Images)

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