Kasparov Says US and Lithuanian Security Services Warned Him of Threat to His Life

Exiled Russian opposition figure Garry Kasparov has revealed that American and Lithuanian security services warned him that his life was in danger, making him one of at least two dissidents advised to take protective precautions. The former world chess champion confirmed he had acted on those warnings, though he did not specify what measures he had taken.

Kasparov's disclosure follows the unsealing earlier this month of a US Justice Department indictment charging five alleged Kremlin operatives with plotting attacks and assassinations in multiple countries, including the United States. The indictment states that the targets of the alleged conspiracy were Russian dissidents and defectors living abroad.

Writing on his Substack, Kasparov said he had not been told explicitly that he and Ivan Tyutrin, co-founder of the Free Russia Forum, were considered specific targets of the plot. However, he said both men had received warnings about their personal safety. The Free Russia Forum is a prominent gathering of Russian opposition figures operating outside Russia, and its organizers have long been viewed by the Kremlin as adversaries.

The Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that it had obtained information indicating Kasparov, along with another Russian opposition figure, Ilya Ponomarev, had been alerted to the alleged plot by US authorities over the summer. Citing sources close to Kasparov, the paper said he had been placed under enhanced protection for the first time since he moved to the United States, a significant escalation in the security arrangements surrounding a man who has lived in exile for more than a decade.

In his Substack post, Kasparov struck a defiant tone. He wrote that he would not stop his political activity and would not hide, even if he believed it were possible to do so. He added that he and his family would not be truly safe as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin remained in power, a circumstance he said was shared by millions of people. The statement reflects the precarious position of Russian opposition figures abroad, who have found themselves targeted even after leaving their homeland.

Kasparov retired from competitive chess in 2005 to pursue a political career in Russia. He founded opposition movements that openly challenged Putin's leadership before fleeing the country in 2013. He has not returned since. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow designated him a foreign agent, and in 2024 he was added to a list of terrorists and extremists. He rejects both categorizations.

The second reported target, Ilya Ponomarev, holds a unique place in recent Russian political history. He was the only member of the Russian parliament to vote against the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Following that vote, he went into exile in Ukraine. When approached by the Moscow Times, Ponomarev declined to confirm or deny whether he had been tipped off about the alleged plot, but he described the allegations as marking a new level of escalation by Russia.

According to the US Justice Department, a network of individuals working for Russian intelligence services has been operating since at least 2024. The department described the so-called RIS Network as having conspired and conducted attacks and murders targeting Russian dissidents and defectors around the world. The breadth of the alleged operation suggests a sustained and coordinated effort to reach beyond Russia's borders and silence critics of the Kremlin.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A Eisenberg said the five alleged members of the network had operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States. He said they had attempted to recruit US citizens and foreigners to carry out killings at the behest of the Kremlin. The involvement of American citizens as potential recruits underscores the domestic security dimensions of the case and the extent to which US officials view the threat as reaching directly onto American soil.

The five people accused of organizing the plots were named as Yuri Khrameev, Kirill Khrameev, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro. All five remain at large, according to the Justice Department, raising questions about how the alleged network continues to function despite the charges and whether additional suspects may yet be identified. The international nature of the indictment suggests cooperation among multiple countries in tracking the individuals involved.

The Kremlin has responded cautiously to the indictment. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time the charges were unsealed that he would not comment until he had heard or seen any credible evidence or tangible facts. The response is consistent with the Kremlin's longstanding practice of dismissing allegations of state-sponsored violence abroad as unsubstantiated, even as Western governments have increasingly pointed to a pattern of attacks on Russian exiles.

The case has drawn attention to the risks faced by Russian opposition figures who have left their country but continue to speak out against Putin's government. Several high-profile dissidents have been attacked or killed in recent years, including individuals who had sought refuge in Europe and the United States. The warnings to Kasparov and Ponomarev suggest that Western security services are treating the threat as credible and ongoing rather than as a historical concern.

For Kasparov, the warnings represent a sharp turn in a life that once revolved around the chessboard and later around political organizing. He has been a vocal critic of Putin for two decades, using his international profile to advocate for democratic change in Russia and to press Western governments to take a harder line against the Kremlin. His decision to remain in the public eye despite the reported threat reflects a calculation shared by many exiles: that silence would amount to surrender.

The broader implications of the indictment extend beyond the individuals named. If the allegations are proven, they would represent one of the most brazen examples of Russia's reported campaign against dissidents abroad, involving plans for killings in multiple countries and efforts to enlist local recruits. Such operations, if confirmed, would raise difficult questions for governments about how to protect exiles, how to deter future plots, and how to balance security concerns with the open political activity that democratic societies are expected to permit.

For now, Kasparov's message is one of resolve rather than retreat. He has made clear that he views the threat as part of a wider struggle over Russia's future, one that will not end with his own exile or with the silence of any single dissident. The warning from US and Lithuanian authorities adds a personal and immediate dimension to a confrontation that has played out in courtrooms, news conferences and international forums for years.