Kasparov Hopes Arab Spring Spreads to Russia

VIDEO: Chess Champ Garry Kasparov Hopes Arab Spring Spreads to Russia
Rob Bluey and Brandon Stewart
November 5, 2011 at 10:00 am

Garry Kasparov mastered the game of chess to become a world-famous champion. These days he’s facing a much tougher opponent: the corrupt leadership of Russia.

Kasparov, a leader of the Russia opposition, spoke at Heritage about why Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is immune to the Obama administration’s reset strategy. In an interview at Heritage before his speech, Kasparov said Obama’s approach was misguided.

Putin, of course, is poised to reclaim the Russian presidency following Dmitry Medvedev’s announcement last month that he would not seek a second term. In response to the news, Kasparov urged a boycott of Russia’s parliamentary elections in December.

Kasparov, author of “How Life Imitates Chess,” said he’s had difficultly applying the same strategy to Russian politics, simply because the leadership there follows no rules.

Still, he expressed optimism about a future change in Russian leadership following the Arab Spring and toppling of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and death of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.

The interview runs about 5 minutes. Hosted by Rob Bluey and produced by Brandon Stewart and Kyle Tuckness. For more videos from Heritage, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Posted in American Leadership, Scribe

Source: http://blog.heritage.org

Kasparov blasted Obama, Bush

Obama's Russia Reset a 'Disaster'
Oct 26, 2011 1:27 AM EDT

Chess champ-turned-opposition leader Garry Kasparov tells Eli Lake the upcoming Russian elections will be a “charade” and Obama’s Russia policy is a “disaster.” And he spares no word for George W. Bush or Condi Rice, either.

Many democratic opposition figures in countries sliding toward authoritarianism see Western election monitors as a lifeline, a chance for a fair election that might be fixed if not for the watchful eye of outside observers. That’s not the case for Garry Kasparov, the iconic chess champion who has emerged as a public face of Russian opposition to Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.

“We are asking Americans and Europeans not to send observers,” Kasparov said in an exclusive interview. “You understand Putin will get whatever he wants. What is the point of pretending this is an election? It’s a charade. Don’t interfere with it, just don’t pay respect to the charade.”

Putin, the former Russian president currently serving as prime minister, announced last month that he would be seeking the presidency anew in the Russian elections scheduled for March, putting a damper on President Obama’s Russia policy, known as the reset. After years of George W. Bush embracing Putin directly, under the reset the Obama administration courted current President Dmitry Medvedev in the hopes of bolstering moderate and liberal voices in the Kremlin against Putin and his loyalists.

Kasparov, a former world chess champion, was critical of both presidents and blunt about the reset. “It’s a disaster,” he said. “From day one they bet on Medvedev as a counterweight to Putin. The whole idea of reset was founded on the false assumption Medvedev was an independent politician. He is not.”

Later in the interview, Kasparov acknowledged that his views on Obama’s Russia policy has not won him any friends at the State Department. “They have no interest in hearing my very specific views,” he said. Kasparov spoke Tuesday at the conservative Heritage Foundation for a conference critical of the reset with Russia.

More here.