Kasparov Says US Warned Him of Death Threats as Kremlin Plot Uncovered

Thu Oct 01 2026 16:21:40 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov alleges US security services warned him his life was at risk following a U.S. indictment of Kremlin agents planning attacks on Russian dissidents.

Garry Kasparov, the ex‑world chess champion turned Russian exile, claimed that American and Lithuanian intelligence warned him of a danger to his life after a Justice Department indictment of Kremlin operatives plotting murders abroad. The indictment uncovered a network of five alleged agents targeting dissidents in the United States and elsewhere. Kasparov said he had received enhanced protection mid‑summer and vowed not to conceal himself, despite ongoing threats from Vladimir Putin’s regime. The case highlights a growing pattern of covert attempts to silence critics of Russia’s government.

Kasparov Says US Warned Him of Death Threats as Kremlin Plot Uncovered

Garry Kasparov speaking at a New York event — Garry Kasparov speaking at a gallery event in New York in September.

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, living in exile, said that U.S. and Lithuanian security services warned him that his life was in danger after a Justice Department indictment uncovered a Kremlin‑backed network planning murders of Russian dissidents abroad. The indictment named five people alleged to be part of a “global assassination network” attempting to recruit U.S. citizens to carry out killings on behalf of the Kremlin.

Kasparov revealed that while he was not notified that he and Free Russia Forum co‑founder Ivan Tyutrin were specific targets, he was warned about his safety and, for the first time since leaving Russia, placed under enhanced protection during the summer. He wrote on Substack that he would not hide, even if he could, and that his family would remain at risk as long as Vladimir Putin remained in power.

The U.S. indictment, unsealed earlier this month, also names Ukrainian politician Ilya Ponomarev, the only Russian MP to vote against the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, who has spent his life in exile. Ponomarev has confirmed the seriousness of the threats, calling the Kremlin plot a “new level of escalation.”

The five accused – Yuri Khrameev, Kirill Khrameev, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro – remain at large, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the allegations until evidence is presented. The case underscores the lengths to which the Russian government is alleged to be going to silence critics, both inside and outside its borders.