Garry Kasparov warns

by Frederic Friedel
9/23/2025 – The legendary world champion and political activist has issued a warning regarding the current media crackdown in the US, comparing it to the early days of Putin's rule in Russia. Kasparov appeared for an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, and on MSNBC with Jen Psaki. You can read his article and watch the videos of his eloquent admonitions here.
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The Next Move is an online publication and newsletter founded by legendary World Champion and political activist Garry Kasparov, in partnership with the Renew Democracy Initiative. The platform provides in-depth analysis and commentary on democratic institutions, the battle against authoritarianism, and strategic insights for defending and strengthening democracy, particularly in the United States. Its coverage focuses on current political challenges, threats to democracy, and offers strategies for action on these issues. The project aims to inspire, inform, and mobilize readers against extremist threats and authoritarian methods both at home and abroad.

In his Next Move article Kasparov's recounts how Russia's media freedom was gradually destroyed, transitioning from limited press liberty in the late 1980s and 1990s to the censorship and control seen under Vladimir Putin. Kasparov describes how, after Putin became president in 1999, the government quickly cracked down on independent media through a combination of direct pressure on journalists, legal harassment, strategic business takeovers, and threats against media owners. While few were outright arrested, the climate of fear, mounting bureaucracy, and punitive lawsuits forced most journalists and outlets into self-censorship or compliance, chilling dissident voices without dramatic public confrontations.

Kasparov points out that this process was gradual, with authorities maintaining a façade of limited press freedom for international audiences while systematically eroding it at home. Drawing a parallel to recent developments in the United States, the article warns of growing risks to press freedom in democracies, arguing that even established constitutional protections can erode in the face of coordinated political and institutional pressure. The author stresses the urgency of defending free speech and journalistic independence before similar patterns of control take root elsewhere.

Here's the full text of the article: Kasparov: I saw how Russia killed media freedom. And here's a CNN interview conducted by Anderson Cooper that is definitely worth watching: 

Kasparov was also on MSNBC's The Briefing, where he spoke to Jen Psaki on the subject:

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Editor-in-Chief emeritus of the ChessBase News page. Studied Philosophy and Linguistics at the University of Hamburg and Oxford, graduating with a thesis on speech act theory and moral language. He started a university career but switched to science journalism, producing documentaries for German TV. In 1986 he co-founded ChessBase.