Historic chess champion Gary Kasparov has been named one of Russia’s foreign agents

Ministry of Justice Russia On Friday the list of foreign agents included two opponents of the Russian military campaign in the Kremlin and Ukraine, the oligarch Mikhail Kodarkovsky and the chess player. Gary Kasparov.

Adding to Kodarkovsky’s list and KasparovBoth were deported because they were carrying out political activities with foreign funding from the United States and Ukraine, according to an official statement.

Kodarkovsky, once rich Russia When he headed the oil company Yugos, he was pardoned in 2013 by Vladimir Putin, the leader of the Kremlin.

One of its leading members KasparovWho stopped chess To participate in the resistance movementHe was deported ten years ago after being arrested for biting a police officer.

Both have given several interviews in the Western media over the past three months condemning Russia’s “special military action” in Ukraine and calling on the United States and the European Union to recognize sanctions against Moscow.

Who are Russia’s foreign agents?

The list of foreign agents began to be compiled by journalists and activists at the end of December 2020, the most important of which was Lev Bonomariov, the most senior human rights defender recently deported. Georgia Due to harassment of Russian security services.

Individuals declared to be foreign agents cannot hold positions in the Russian public administration or have access to state secrets.

Russian President, Vladimir PutinHe has defended the Foreign Agents Act as a means of curbing Western interference in the political life of this country.

While the opposition sees the Kremlin as a tool to harass its most critical, it also argues that it follows practices in other countries, especially in the United States. (EFE)