The war against Ukraine is killing the empire that Vladimir Putin is trying to build. This was stated by former world chess champion Garry Kasparov to the Polish publication TVP WORLD.
Could Russia's war against Ukraine ultimately accelerate the collapse of the empire that Putin is so desperately trying to preserve?
“I think the Empire is dying. And I think that while we are alive, we will see the end of the Russian Empire“, said Garry Kasparov, adding that he does not expect the Kremlin to be able to maintain its current borders for more than 10 years. “People ask me: “Do you want Russia to collapse?“ It is not about what I want or not. "It will happen," he said.
However, Kasparov warned that Putin could decide to take desperate steps when faced with the prospect of losing power amid the collapse. And the Russian people themselves could follow suit.
"Talk to a population that has been brainwashed for decades. Try listening to Russian propaganda for three days and even you will have a hard time. They are not attacking; they are defending themselves," he explained. "They will not attack NATO countries. They will attack countries that support Ukraine's aggression against Russia."
"It sounds ridiculous to us, to normal people in Poland, in Germany, but for many, many Russians this is history," the grandmaster said. Kasparov said his goal was to explain to Western politicians how Russians and Putin think and to unite to defend their values and, ideally, to stop him.
“And I will do absolutely everything to build the strongest possible coalition to make sure that Putin's aggression never succeeds,“ he said. But ultimately, to ensure lasting peace, Russia must change and, as Kasparov said: “Victory for Ukraine is the only chance for change in Russia.“
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was put on the international wanted list by Russian investigators a few weeks ago on charges of condoning terrorism and two counts of violating the rules governing the activities of foreign agents. Kasparov is recognized as a foreign agent in his homeland and included in the terrorist register.