Russian world chess champion and rights advocate Garry Kasparov talks about the rules of the game in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, a society he describes as a “gangster state with Putin as the Godfather.” Kasparov deplores the fact that Dmitry Medvedev—who, coincidentally, was staying at the time in the same hotel as the human rights defenders attending the Oslo Freedom Forum—did not join the forum, as he could have learned much from the speakers. Kasparov discusses the Russian leader’s failure to sever himself from Putin’s policies and politics. The only chance Russia has, Kasparov says, is a genuine, all-inclusive democracy.
