Flash News

Bota

Kasparov: Russia may lose some territories if it does not win the war in Ukraine

Kasparov: Russia may lose some territories if it does not win the war in Ukraine

Exiled Russian opposition leader and co-founder of the Free Russia Forum, Garry Kasparov, told Radio Free Europe (REL) on March 1 that Russia's current borders "could change" if Moscow loses the war in Ukraine, but added that the complete disintegration of Russia is unlikely to happen.

The regions that can be separated from the Russian Federation, according to Kasparov, are republics such as Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Dagestan and Chechnya, but he emphasized that he does not believe that everything is clear about what will happen after the war.

"Ultimately, economic factors will play a big role in this matter. But it is very important today not to support the position of a united and indivisible Russia", said Kasparov.

He believes that changing the "imperial character" of Russia is necessary for the reformation of this country.

The former world chess champion said that the loss for Russia would be "minimal", but underlined that "if you reject an empire, then you have to accept that some parts of it may be removed in the end".

The ties that would make Russia's breakup more difficult would be primarily economic, he said. But if some parts of Russia secede, then it would be possible to reach new agreements between the territories of Russia according to what would be called a "free confederation".

"It is right, among other things, also from a psychological point of view, because it will be impossible to build a non-imperial Russia while maintaining imperial misunderstandings," said Kasparov.

Kasparov also said he believes that the United States and the European Union "fear" that Russia's disintegration could happen if it loses the war in Ukraine.

A Ukrainian victory would be "a big blow" for Russia, he underlined, and would "probably change its entire political structure".

Kasparov said that the Russian people still do not understand that the war is heading towards defeat and that "Putin's dictatorship will not survive".

Kasparov, who lives in the United States now, is known as a strong critic of the Kremlin's policies, including the war in Ukraine./ REL

Latest news