Kasparov, Garry

(1963– )

   Given name: Garrik Kimovich Vaynshteyn. Born to a Jewish father and an Armenian mother in Baku, Azerbaijan, Garry Kasparov rose to international prominence as an international chess champion, capturing the world title in the 1980s. He announced his retirement from major competition in 2005, dedicating himself to writing and politics. Kasparov had been a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and leader in the Komsomol youth movement in the late Soviet period, but had participated little in political activity during the Yeltsin era. In 2005, he established the United Civil Front with the aim of preserving democracy in Russia. He regularly condemned Vladimir Putin’s neo-authoritarian reforms, often doing so in English for international media audiences. He helped organize the 2007 Dissenters’ March and the anti-Kremlin coalition, The Other Russia. He entered the 2008 presidential race against Putin’s hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvyedev, though he later withdrew his candidacy due to difficulties in recruiting supporters.