In this Capital Magazine interview the best-known Russian opposition
leader dissects the regime of the reigning President Vladimir Putin. The charismatic
ex-world chess champion accuses the West of being accomplice to the decline
of democracy, but praises the courage of [German] Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In addition Kasparov reveals where he keeps his money and in where he does push-ups.
Since 2006 the 44-year-old has been at the head of the many-party coalition
"The Other Russia". In
spite of the constant danger of assassination he lives with his family in Moscow.
Putin's
system works like the Stalin regime
Interview by Claudio De Luca, Moritz Küpper,
with photos by Martin Langhorst
Mr Kasparov, we meet you here in your holiday home on the Adriatic coast
of Croatia. Have you recovered from the strains of the past months? Amongst
other things you were arrested after a demonstration in Moscow.
Kasparov: Relaxing here is very easy. I have been coming here
for eleven years now, every summer, to this house, which belongs to a friend
from Germany. To get to the beach is just walk across the promenade. I go swimming
in the sea every morning and evening. In between I work on books and essays,
take naps and eat well. Apart from that I try to keep physically fit. The period
until the presidential elections next spring will be strenuous.
Do you use the gym equipment we see there in the corner?
Kasparov: Everyone here uses it – my bodyguard, my cousin and his family.
I prefer fresh air and do push-ups on the beach.
You are the most prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin. Are you
not afraid of an assassination if you move around so freely in public places?
Kasparov: I feel safe when I am abroad. Here in Croatia I
have one bodyguard, because I am in one place for four weeks. But that doesn't
ruin the holiday mood. In Moscow, unfortunately, things are quite different.
I never leave my house without my five bodyguards, I do not travel with the
national airline Aeroflot, and avoid restaurants. You have to be always prepared
for the worst in a system for which bloodshed is a legitimate means.
Is Putin the guiding force behind the murders of regime critics like
the journalist Anna Politkowskaja?
Kasparov: The Putin system works like the Mafia – and
previously the Stalin regime. The leader says: "Politkowskaja is a pain
in the neck, I don't want to hear anything more about her." And the apparatus
solves the problem. I do not know whether Putin gave an explicit order to commit
murder. But it is clear that he tolerates and accepts these acts.

Have you ever met Putin face to face and confronted him with these charges?
Kasparov: No, I have never met him. And I am not eager to
do so. I have had to grapple with enough KGB people already, I don't need one
more of them.
In spite of the antipathy – chess players also analyse the strengths
of their opponents. Is there anything you admire about Putin?
Kasparov: For me the individual Putin is not so important.
Putin is the product of a system, not its creator. His personal responsibility
for the inhuman regime that threatens the future of Russia is overestimated.
Are you trying to test our memory? A few minutes ago you painted a different
picture: the boss commands, his footmen execute the order.
Kasparov: That is only superficially a contradiction. Putin
was picked out in the late 90s by the Yeltsin clan, groomed and raised all the
way to the top. At the time he was not a strong, charismatic figure, but a henchman.
I do not say that Putin has no power today. But the social evils will not disappear
when he goes. The problem is deeper.
How does your radical criticism stand up to the fact that according to
polls Putin is considered a strong leader by the people, and is very popular.
Kasparov: It is naïve to believe the numbers. Many people
are simply afraid to speak the truth. Are you surprised? In addition people
have a distorted image of the reality around them. The media is under the control
of the Kremlin, negative things simply don't happen. That also makes Putin vulnerable:
just two weeks of open, honest reporting, without censorship, would cause the
whole system to shake. Especially if the sellout of the country became known.
Through the privatisation of the economy a very small group collected billions
and took them out of Russia. The strict control of the Government is intended
to make sure that nobody seriously investigates if all these transactions were
legal.

Is Putin pursuing personal financial interests?
Kasparov: He is the richest man in Russia, and he too has
deposited a vast fortune in the West.
Do you have proof of these charges?
Kasparov: Just his stake in the companies Sibneftigaz and
Gazprom should be worth 20 to 25 billion Euros. And do you believe that Putin
does not have shares in the portfolios of oligarchs like Abramovich or Deripaska?
But naturally I cannot produce bank statements. Putin is at the head of the
system. Just simple common sense tells us that this will be reflected in his
wealth.
It is a fact that the economy is booming, and that not only the top executives
profit from this. At the same time his confident air has made the voice of
Moscow one that the world again listens to. Isn't that balm for the troubled
Russian soul?
Kasparov: Don't have false illusions. The objections to the
US missile shield, the arguments over pipelines or the special role in the conflict
in Iran and in the Middle East – in all these cases it is not about national
interests but about individual interests, in the form of high oil prices. Putin
is a businessman, the CEO of a "Russian Elite Corporation". The West
has eagerly helped him to fill his own pockets.
Kasparov: The heads of the G7 member countries have been wooing
Putin for years, especially your ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who was
his agent in Europe. And so our president was able to present himself as a democrat
amongst democrats – and at the same time conduct his schemes undisturbed.
The mood between the USA and Europe on the one side and Russia on the
other has become sharper. Recently, at the summit in Samara, [German Chancellor]
Angela Merkel criticised Putin, in public and quite severely.
Kasparov: That was courageous – and about time. With
Merkel Putin at last feels some headwind, which also makes him visibly nervous.
The other leaders of states should follow her example. Angela Merkel is, if
I may say so, the first real man in the Group of Eight. Probably it is the result
of the fact that for many years she lived under the control of the Soviet Union
[in East Germany].
But in spite of such criticism the European Union, which also speaks
for Germany, is retaining the basic idea of a strategic partnership with Russia.
Is that the correct path?

Kasparov: That depends on what the cooperation entails, in
concrete terms. It is critical that the European Union sticks together and does
not tolerate the way Putin and his followers are stepping on the freedom of
the people. In this matter one has to deal very firmly with Moscow and not engage
in any form of horse-trading. Here Germany, the most powerful EU country, has
the decisive role to play. I am counting on Merkel's good sense of direction.
That sounds great – in theory. But in view of its great dependence
on oil and gas has the EU any options to apply pressure and force Russia to
adopt their values?
Kasparov: Don't make yourselves smaller than you are. Russia
needs to sell its raw materials as expensively as possible. And there is no
way past the European Union. Apart from that the largest Russian financial assets
lie in bank accounts held in Europe and America. For this reason the fear of
a cold war is also quite absurd. Putin's clan has absolutely no interest in
this option. It would simply harm their own interests. The West clearly has
the upper hand from a point of view of power strategy. And it should use this.
What is the role of economic factors? Do you support the German Foreign
Minister's ideas of convergence through interdependence?
Kasparov: This leitmotiv has applied for many years
now. But reality shows us that no hopes have been fulfilled. Under Putin the
economic cooperation with the West has blossomed as never before. And still,
year by year the situation of democracy is deteriorating.
Should German companies stop investing in Russia, in order to protest?
Kasparov: I wouldn't go so far. If a company can do business
in Russia – go ahead! I simply do not believe that this will change anything
in the way the system works. Foreign investments are dangerous when business
and politics are mixed and follow the principle: you open your market and we
close our mouths.
In the meantime Russian companies are investing billions in West Europe,
mainly in Germany. That causes concern to large parts of the population. With
justification?
Kasparov: Of course! It is mainly companies like Gazprom,
who want to gain a foothold in the West. They are under the control of the Kremlin
and are not just after profits, but also striving for political influence. If
the Putin clan wants something it will use any means, legal or illegal. Why
do you think that of all places Sochi was selected to host the Winter Games
in 2014, even though the city is quite unsuitable for this event?
Kasparov: It was a clear case of corruption. Putin himself
met with fifteen members of the International Olympic Committee and had some
very convincing monetary arguments in his briefcase. After he had won the bid
in this way the state will invest twelve billion dollars in Sochi. You can count
on it that most of the money will end up in the pockets of companies close to
Putin. Incidentally, it would not surprise me at all if Putin became the next
IOC President.
You are trying to beat the current regime in 2008 with your many-party
coalition "The Other Russia". But now of all times the organisation
is showing signs of weakness. Former Prime Minister Kasyanov has left the
coalition. Is that bitter for you?
Kasparov: You know, when we started in 2005 our position was
very weak. In the meantime we have become public enemy number one for the Kremlin,
which is resorting to force. People can no longer ignore us. That makes me proud,
not bitter.
Could the next Russian President be Garry Kasparov?
Kasparov: That is highly unlikely. From today's point of view
I consider another candidate better suited: Viktor Gerashenko, former head of
the Central Bank. He is older than me, does not polarize people as much and
would be a better compromise candidate for "The Other Russia".
Finally, one thing we would like to know. During your chess career you
earned a lot of money, now you are writing books and holding well-paid lectures.
Have you invested your fortune in Russia?
Kasparov: No, of course not. What an idea! I have placed my
money safely in the West. Here investment experts are making sure that it grows
properly. I am not an oligarch, but I will not have any monetary problems.
Copyright Capital.
The original text (in German) has appeared in the printed version of the magazine.
Article in Transition Online
The Thugocracy Lands Another Punch
Just ahead of election season, Russia's politicians change the laws so they
can put more dissidents in prison.
The mud has been thrown. And much of it has stuck. These days, when Kremlin
officials talk about "extremists" they usually mean the political
opposition, and The Other Russia coalition in particular.
When the coalition's best-known figure, former chess champion Garry Kasparov,
was detained at an opposition rally in Moscow on 14 April the police said they
were investigating him for "publicly calling for extremist action."
The charges were soon dropped, but the stigma persists. The threat of "extremism"
charges had been used two days before the April rally when police raided the
St. Petersburg headquarters of Yabloko, the former liberal bloc in parliament.
These two cases – and others – fell apart for one reason: existing
law was not strong enough to support a successful prosecution. But now all that
is changing. As parliamentary and presidential elections approach, the State
Duma has been busy amending the law. In late July President Vladimir Putin signed
a series of amendments that his majority party, United Russia, claims are targeted
against nationalists and those planning violence. But the political opposition
warns that the new clauses will amount to a crackdown on freedom of expression.
Under the new legislation no fewer than 13 aspects of extremism will become
offenses. They include "public slander of state officials," "hampering
the lawful activity of state organizations," "humiliating national
pride," and "hooliganism committed for political or ideological motives."
These loosely written and hastily adopted measures will make it much easier
for the state to stifle its critics. And these clauses, with their vague wording,
leave great scope for draconian interpretation. That could allow them to be
used just as easily against peaceful democratic opposition groups as against
real extremists who are ready to use violent means to gain their objectives.
The new clauses suggest the authorities are increasingly fearful of a wave
of civil protests of the kind that brought thousands of people onto the streets
in the spring. So those who take to the streets in the future, and those who
distribute the leaflets calling on them to protest, can be harshly dealt with
under the catch-all clauses passed against "extremism."
Read
the full Transition Online article Galina Stolyarova
Transition Online (TOL) was founded
as a Czech nonprofit organization in April 1999, the month after the final issue
of its print predecessor, Transitions magazine, was published. The new organization
was founded by four of the former print magazine's staff members who were dedicated
to keeping the widely respected, cross-border coverage of the magazine alive.