The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

"Like Germany in 1945": Russian chess grandmaster expects "worst" Putin defeat

2022-10-05T12:38:21.602Z


"Like Germany in 1945": Russian chess grandmaster expects "worst" Putin defeat Created: 10/05/2022, 2:30 p.m By: Andreas Schmid Former Russian world chess champion Garry Kasparov clearly criticizes Vladimir Putin. (Archive image) © imago/APress Russia is the greatest chess nation in the world. The professionals currently seem divided: for or against war? Multiple world champion Kasparov is alr


"Like Germany in 1945": Russian chess grandmaster expects "worst" Putin defeat

Created: 10/05/2022, 2:30 p.m

By: Andreas Schmid

Former Russian world chess champion Garry Kasparov clearly criticizes Vladimir Putin.

(Archive image) © imago/APress

Russia is the greatest chess nation in the world.

The professionals currently seem divided: for or against war?

Multiple world champion Kasparov is already talking about a "1945" scenario.

Moscow - Garry Kasparov wanted to stop Vladimir Putin's political career 15 years ago.

The multiple Russian world chess champion founded the "Committee 2008: Free Elections", which wanted to prevent a second term for Putin in Russia.

Kasparov hasn't played chess for years - but the 59-year-old is more critical of Putin than ever.

Ukraine war: Kasparov sees “worst” Putin defeat: “Like Germany in 1945”

In an interview with

Der Spiegel

, Kasparov predicted a Russian defeat in the Ukraine war.

"Putin will run out of ammunition by April at the latest, and the economy will no longer even be able to cover the basic needs of the Russians." That's why the Kremlin boss is "in a hurry now", which can be seen in the partial mobilization.

"He is looking for a good starting position for negotiations."

Kasparov believes the defeat will be devastating for Russia.

"From the history of Russia we know that every military and geopolitical defeat at home leads to dramatic political changes, whether it was the Crimean War in 1855, the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, the stalemate in World War I or the end of the Cold War in 1989. But this defeat could be the worst of all because it will be very visible.

It will be like 1945 in Germany.” The opposition figure Leonid Volkov puts forward a similar thesis in his new book.

Russia like Germany in 1945?

"Putin is about to lose the war"

In 1945 the Second World War ended in defeat for the aggressor.

Hitler's Germany was defeated, the country destroyed and occupied.

A scenario that will hardly apply to Russia, where there are currently hardly any bombs flying in their own country and a Ukrainian occupation seems impossible.

But Kasparov says: “It's about the feeling of defeat, about the realization that the Russian empire is dead.” This realization will come “when Crimea is liberated and the Ukrainian flag flies over Crimea's most important port, Sevastopol .” This option also seems unlikely at the moment.

Russia controls Crimea and recently annexed four other regions in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Kyiv was able to reconquer areas in Cherson (see map).

Overall, Kasparov is certain: "Putin is about to lose the war."

also read

Putin soldiers left 'in the woods'?

Ukraine minister reports chaos

Russian military train towards Ukraine raises nuclear fears – report on secret NATO warning

Russia's chess scene: split between Kremlin consensus and Putin protest

Russia is considered the greatest chess nation in the world.

The best players are significantly better known than their western counterparts.

Some of them are massively supported by the state - and not all of them are critical of the Kremlin.

Former world champion Anatoly Karpov is a member of Putin's United Russia party.

32-year-old Sergei Karjakin - a native of Ukraine - has been banned from all international chess matches for glorifying war and worshiping Putin.

As did Grandmaster Sergey Shipov, who, like Karpov, had defended the war in online comments.

Sergei Karjakin, born in Simferopol in Crimea, poses with a "Z", the symbol of Russia's support in the Ukraine war.

© IMAGO/Pavel Lisitsyn

At the same time, there are other critics of Putin, such as 25-year-old Moscow chess talent Daniil Dubovden, who openly sympathizes with Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and calls for protests against Putin.

Or the grand master Jan Nepomnyashchi, who condemned the war on the very first day.

“There have been many Black Thursdays in history.

But today is the blackest of all," Nepomnyashchi wrote on Twitter on February 24.

That Thursday when Russia attacked Ukraine.

(as)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-10-05

You may like

Life/Entertain 2024-02-21T16:51:50.456Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.