Russian dissident Kasparov and allies receive warning from U.S. security agencies: Life is threatened by assassination

Garry Kasparov, a former world chess champion from Russia and a well-known dissident criticizing the Kremlin, said on the 1st that the security services of the United States and Lithuania had told him and his allies that their lives were in danger and called on them to take safety precautions.

The 63-year-old legendary chess master, who has been in exile in New York for more than 10 years, said on social media: "I am not surprised by the news that I and my long-term partner, Ivan Tyutrin, co-founder of the Free Russia Forum, are on the assassination target list, but it is still horrifying... The security services of Lithuania and the United States informed us that our lives are in danger and that we should take precautions. I did so and will continue to do so in the future."

As for Kasparov's ally, 45-year-old Chutlin, who is based in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, told AFP that the Lithuanian authorities warned him two weeks ago to "leave his residence urgently and not use his car."

In mid-September this year, the U.S. Department of Justice accused five Russian intelligence agents of conspiring to carry out attacks and murders around the world, including the United States. They also attempted to murder a "well-known Russian dissident" living in the United States this summer. The United States did not disclose the identity of the targeted attacker at the time, and only referred to it as "Victim-1."

Spanish El Mundo newspaper reported on September 30, citing sources close to Kasparov, that Russian agents had planned to assassinate Kasparov and Ilya Ponomaryov, a former Russian member of parliament who opposed the Kremlin. Kasparov said that neither he nor Chutlin was explicitly told that he was the target of an assassination plot whose identity was suppressed in the indictment.

Kasparov retired from chess in 2005 and became involved in political activities. He once criticized Russia as a "fascist" country; he and Chutlin established the "Free Russia Forum" in 2016 after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, advocating support for the Ukrainian army and holding anti-war meetings. The forum was listed as a terrorist organization by the Moscow authorities in 2025, three years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.