Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich was re-elected president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) on Sunday, over a Ukrainian rival who claimed the Russian's opposition was untenable because of the war.
Gathered in India, a total of 157 out of 179 national chess federations voted in favor of Arkadi Dvorkovitch, announced the head of the FIDE electoral commission, Roberto Rivello.
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The Russian was facing Ukrainian grandmaster Andrii Baryshpolets, who collected only 16 votes.
Five delegates abstained and one vote was declared invalid.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted on Sunday by calling his compatriot's re-election "
very good news
" and a "
very significant victory
".
Many Russian officials have been hit with sanctions since the invasion of Ukraine in February.
But Arkadi Dvorkovich, 50, who served under President Vladimir Putin as deputy prime minister from 2012 until his election as FIDE president in 2018, managed to hold on to his chair.
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Shortly before the vote, Andrii Baryshpolets accused Arkady Dvorkovitch of having “
huge links with the Russian government
”.
“
You, Arkadi, are responsible for what is happening in Ukraine now.
You are responsible for the rise of the Russian government and Russia's war machine.
How can we, the chess world, afford this?
denounced the Ukrainian.
Arkady Dvorkovich replied that he took "
a strong position on the tragic events in Ukraine
", and that he supported the reduction of Russia's participation in FIDE.
Historical Russian domination
In March, Arkady Dvorkovich appeared to criticize the Russian invasion, saying his "
thoughts (are) with Ukrainian civilians
".
“
Wars don't just kill priceless lives.
Wars kill hopes and aspirations, freeze or destroy relationships and bonds
,” he told the US news site Mother Jones.
These comments drew criticism in Russia, and Arkady Dvorkovich later backtracked saying that there was "
no room for Nazism or the domination of some countries over others
".
The remarks were seen as support for the Kremlin, which portrays Ukraine as being ruled by Nazis and accuses the West of wanting to bring the country under its control.
Russia has largely dominated the chess world for decades.
Eccentric politician and billionaire Kirsan Ilioumzhinov, who claimed to have met aliens and that the game was invented by Russians, thus reigned over FIDE for 23 years before his dismissal in 2018.
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Arkady Dvorkovitch was widely regarded as a capable administrator, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He made the Indian Viswanathan Anand, five times world champion and one of the biggest names in chess today, his assistant and his running mate for the FIDE election.
"
We are coming forward based on a strong track record and the achievements of Arkady Dvorkovitch and his team over the past four years
," Viswanathan Anand said in an interview with AFP in July.
“
The president's decisions have clearly demonstrated that he is independent of Kremlin influence.
On top of that...(FIDE) has developed ties with multiple sponsors and countries and managed to organize most of the FIDE events like the World Championship...outside Russia
,” said he added.
