(NewsReady.com) – When Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the invasion of Ukraine, reports indicated he thought he’d win quickly. Yet, that wasn’t the case. More than a year later, the battle is still raging, and a chess master just made a startling prediction.
Garry Kasparov, born in Azerbaijan in the Soviet Union, spoke to Newsweek about the war in Ukraine. The chess grandmaster is now involved in politics and believes Russia will be smaller in the next five years. He predicted the country’s territories, like Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, and Chechnya, “very likely will walk away.”
Kasparov said he believes the “collapse of the Russian empire is imminent.” What’s more, he thinks it “must cease to exist.” He questioned whether other nations would intervene to help preserve some parts of Russian majority territory and reform it “to become a future ally of the Euro Atlantic civilization.”
Russia defeated completely in Ukraine is the first essential matter. But if Ukraine and the rest of the world are to know real peace, Russia must undergo a transformation. Unstable is better than a rogue gangster state, but we must plan for more. https://t.co/raZ1Cut68D
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) May 19, 2023
After retiring from chess, Kasparov created the United Civil Front. The organization operates in Russia and works to “preserve electoral democracy in Russia.” In 2007, Kasparov was among 170 people arrested after participating in an anti-Kremlin rally that was prohibited from taking place.
Unfortunately, the group has not had much success in meeting its goals. Putin has essentially made it impossible for voters to remove him from office by charging all of his toughest political opponents with crimes.
According to the Newsweek piece, Kasparov has warned about the threat Putin poses to the rest of the world for years. He compared the Russian leader to Adolf Hitler in his 2015 book “Winter is Coming.” Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office declared the former chess champion’s other group, the Free Russia Forum, an “undesirable organization.”
Kasparov also said that when the war ends, those involved in starting the conflict need to be brought to justice and separated from the others who didn’t want the war. He explained that Russia is run by “a bunch of crooks and thugs,” but the majority aren’t “war criminals.” If they don’t want the country to collapse, the criminals have to be “taken away.”
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