Kasparov gets personal – in a remarkable BBC interview

Taking a Stand – Garry Kasparov on BBC Radio 4

Fergal Keane talks to people who have taken risks and made sacrifices to stand up for what they believe in. He is a special correspondent for BBC News, based in London in the BBC's World Affairs unit, after having joined the BBC in 1989 as Northern Ireland correspondent. From 1990 to 1994 Fergal's reports covered the township unrest in South Africa and the first multi-racial elections following the end of apartheid and the genocide in Rwanda.

In 1995 he was appointed Asia correspondent based in Hong Kong and two years later returned to be based in the BBC's World Affairs Unit in London. Fergal returned to Rwanda in 2004, for a special BBC Panorama programme which marked the 10th anniversary of the genocide. He was named as overall winner of the Amnesty International Press Awards in 1993 and won an Amnesty television prize in 1994 for his investigation of the Rwandan genocide, Journey Into Darkness. In 1996 Fergal Keane was awarded an OBE for services to journalism.

Garry Kasparov was only 22 when he became the youngest ever World Chess Champion. His was a gilded youth, lauded by the Soviet state. Yet he was always known as a bit of a trouble maker, unwilling to tow the party line. His greatest stand, though, would be a very personal one – against Vladimir Putin. He talks to Fergal Keane about why he decided to stand for the presidency of Russia, a decision that led to his imprisonment. And whether he thinks he will survive as a defiant presence in a country where some critics of the state have met a violent death.

You can listen to this indepth, very interesting interview here (or click the image above).
But hurry – there are only six days left to catch it.

For those of you who may have missed it, or those who prefer to read text, the BBC has published a description of the contents of the Kasparov interview. You will find it here.