Kasparov Says US And Lithuanian Security Services Warned His Life Was In Danger
For chess great Garry Kasparov, alleged Russian plots to assassinate Kremlin opponents abroad are no laughing matter.
When this correspondent interviewed Garry Kasparov nearly a decade ago, the chess great turned up late, straight from hospital, with a bandage around his head.
Kasparov had been in a taxi from the airport when it crashed. I attempted a nervous joke: "The driver wasn't Russian, was he?"
Kasparov didn't smile. Not one little bit.
Perhaps that shouldn't have been surprising.
The former World Champion had already spent years as one of Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponents. Now, nearly a decade later, Kasparov says security services in the United States and Lithuania have warned him that his life is in danger amid an investigation into alleged Russian plots to assassinate Kremlin opponents abroad.
He probably knew that already though.
When the news broke about the Kremlin's threats against my life and the lives of my fellow dissidents, I was in Strasbourg petitioning the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and its European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). My colleagues and our allies at PACE… pic.twitter.com/nBIMLSkcjt
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) October 2, 2026
U.S. authorities announced last month that five people had been charged over alleged plots involving Russian intelligence to surveil and kill two opposition figures—one in the United States and another in Lithuania.
Media reports have linked Kasparov to the case.
But there is an important distinction: neither the U.S. authorities nor Kasparov has confirmed that he was one of the unnamed intended victims.
"Neither Ivan nor I were explicitly told that we were the unnamed targets in the US indictment," Kasparov said, referring to Russian opposition activist Ivan Tyutrin.
"We were, however, warned by security services in Lithuania and the US that our lives were in danger and that we should take precautions."
Kasparov said he had followed that advice.
"But I will not stop and I will not hide."
From chess champion to Kremlin opponent
Kasparov retired from professional chess in 2005 after dominating the game for more than two decades.
He subsequently became increasingly involved in Russian opposition politics and emerged as one of Putin's most outspoken critics.
Kasparov eventually left Russia and now lives in the United States. Russian authorities have designated him a "foreign agent" and placed him on the country's list of "terrorists and extremists".
He has continued to criticise Putin from abroad and has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
The latest security concerns follow charges announced by the US Department of Justice against five people accused of involvement in alleged Russian-backed plots targeting Kremlin opponents.
The alleged intended victims were not publicly named by US prosecutors.
Kasparov's name has subsequently appeared in reporting about their possible identities, but that has not been officially confirmed.
The Kremlin has said it sees no reason to comment on the US allegations without what it considers credible evidence and facts. Russia has previously denied conducting assassination operations against opponents abroad.
For Kasparov, concerns about his personal safety are hardly new.
And perhaps that explains why, sitting opposite an injured Kasparov all those years ago, the joke about his taxi driver fell so spectacularly flat.
What sounded like dark humour to a slightly awestruck interviewer was, for him, apparently no laughing matter. What on earth was I thinking?
