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Chess Grandmaster Kasparov Versus President Putin

Posted by kdawson on from the winning-combination dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Times of London has an article on how Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion, is using his fame and intellect in an attempt to defeat President Putin at the presidential elections in March 2008. Kasparov believes that Putin is virtually a dictator who is dismantling democracy and returning Russia to an authoritarian regime. Some high-profile Putin critics, such as Alexander Litvinenko, have been the victims of unsolved murders, and Kasparov is aware of the dangers: 'I can calculate the possibilities as a chess player and I have to be honest and say that our chances are not high. But I take this as a moral duty, and when you do something out of moral duty, then who cares?'" From the article: "[Kasparov] will not be a contender for the presidency but [his political umbrella group] The Other Russia aims to create the conditions under which an anti-Putin candidate can win. It appears, however, to be an uneven contest against a man who enjoys 80 per cent approval ratings. Most Russians want Mr. Putin to overturn a constitutional bar on a third term in office. Many will back whomever Mr. Putin endorses to succeed him."

14 of 416 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmmm by cp.tar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ever since I read Bill Gates was a rather good Go player, it explained a lot to me about his business strategy.

    A brilliant chess player like Mr Kasparov should not only be able to calculate the odds, but also devise some ways to alter them.

    If he's really getting ready to battle Putin, he really should apply his best tactics to politics.
    Which he might do, too.

    Let's see what happens...

    --
    Ignore this signature. By order.
    1. Re:Hmmmm by kassemi · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Strategic games like Go and Chess are great exercises for the mind, but outside the benefits in reason and patience you receive from practice, I don't see them helping calculate the odds of a political statement reaching an audience. In terms I know we'll understand: programming skills != social skills, just as chess skills != political foresight.

      --
      What the hell's a "gewie?"
  2. Actually... by TrisexualPuppy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You may not be so far off.

    There is a great controversy over this man whom Putin may have personally had murdered. Or it could be someone framing Putin. Or it could be Putin making it look as though he was framed. Russia is a grim place. I don't expect Kasparov to live much longer...whether those "approval ratings" are truly 80% or more like (1/80)%, either Putin has the power to make it look as though he has the people's support, or he does have the people's support, obviously making him powerful.

    1. Re:Actually... by Shihar · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Putin's approval ratings are mostly real. Russia's transition to democracy (well, it isn't one any more) was rough. The people went from full bellies and empty souls to being hungry and confused. Russia was pillaged in its transition to a market democracy due to some awesomely bad economic policy (which the west does indeed share some blame for). By the time Putin came to power the people just wanted stability and anything other then a rapid economic plummet. Putin has given that to them, and they love him for it.

      The problem is that in stabilizing Russia Putin also gobbled up all the power he could find and has set Russia on course to look more like Russia of old then Europe of the US. Hell, Putin calls the Russian style of government "managed democracy". Putin has pooled all of the power of the state into his own hands. Russia suspended elections for governors and now simply appoints them with an old skool nod to the USSR. Russian TV is now almost entirely state and blatantly used for propaganda, making campaigning against Putin and his allies all but impossible. The government, while not throwing people in Siberian slave labor camps Stalin style, happily detain activists by the thousands before any attempt to hold a protest.

      Russia hasn't caught up with their old Soviet ways yet but they are headed that way. Russia still maintains a relatively free printed press, and Putin has so far refrained from writing himself as dictator into the constitution. That said, the direction Russia is headed isn't pretty, and I really doubt that Putin is going to appoint a successor who is going to be a champion of liberalization and democracy.

    2. Re:Actually... by orzetto · · Score: 4, Insightful
      whether those "approval ratings" are truly 80% or more like (1/80)%[...]

      I would strongly suggest you to reconsider this statement. Just because you are an autocrat and govern for the benefit of a restricted circle of oligarchs, it does not mean the people will not like you. The bulk of the people can be made incredibly stupid when you control enough of the media.

      The classical instrument to make the people love you even when you are actually screwing them is finding a scapegoat: Hitler had Jews, but he certainly did not invent the tactic, nor anti-semitism itself (he was instead special in that he actually believed that crap). It runs all the way back to the Romans (who blamed, say, Christians) and beyond. It has to be a small minority without an actual capability to politically fight back, yet recognizable enough. Putin has Chechen rebels, Ahmadinejad has Americans and Israel, Bush has terrorists, Berlusconi has Communists, Le Pen has immigrants.

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    3. Re:Actually... by paeanblack · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Putin does play ball with foreign capitalists.

      He plays ball. He plays hardball. He plays dirty. He's the reason post-Soviet Russia is no longer getting raped by foreign capitalists.

      At this rate, history will probably remember him as the most effective Russian leader since Catherine the Great. From the perspective of a Russian citizen, the Soviets sucked, the Soviet collapse was worse, but now we're getting the best of both worlds and it's still improving. Putin can do whatever he wants if he keeps this track going.

    4. Re:Actually... by smittyoneeach · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm thinking that if someone set up a PayPal account, we could chip in $2 apiece, and send ShieldW0lf to Russia for a couple of years, to see whether a reality check alters the expressed opinion.
      My wife has been to St. Petersburg on business, and the first-hand experience didn't sound like one she'd care to repeat. One colleague carrying an El Salvadorean passport, for example, had to be fished out of customs with bribes.
      Russia is a mafia state. Get over it. Socialism models the human spirit poorly, hence its historically mixed results.

      --
      Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    5. Re:Actually... by Shihar · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Oh please, Putin is not a shining star of socialist values. Hell, a sizable block of his opposition are communist. The only thing that unites the opposition to Putin is the fact that he is tearing apart the nations democratic institutions piece by piece. You can ignore the fact all you want, but it won't change that governors who were once elected are now appointed, nor that the state owned TV stations (which is pretty much all the TV stations) are blatantly is used as a mechanism one sided political promotion mechanism.

      If Putin were to somehow succeed in realizing his ideals, Russia would be a much better place to live than North America. Great. And if Dick Chaney was to realize his dreams the Middle East would be one big happy democracy with bustling markets and a love for the US that rivals Japan's post World War II infatuation. If Kim Jong Il had his dream realized, the Koreas would be happily united, full of happy Kim Jong loving people, and the US would be begging them to be their friends. If Hitler's dream was realized we would live in a happy utopia where there is peace, harmony, no nasty Jews, no moral corruption, and we would be on year 60 of a glorious 1000 reich. So? Who cares? These people were all delusional, and their delusions all resulted in the suffering of millions, tens of millions, or hundreds of millions. Putin will never see his ideals reached because he is a brutal autocrat, just like every other high minded asshole in history who made up one excuse or another to deprive his people of basic liberties.

      As far as your ranting about socialism... when in the hell did I even mention socialism? What exactly are you arguing against? I spoke only of democracy. If Russia wanted to implement European styled socialism, good for them. Plenty of European nations have managed to be both socialistic and democratic to greater and lesser degrees without becoming a (in Putin's own doublespeak words) "managed democracy". Contrary to the popular beliefs of some socialist heroes, you can have both socialism AND democracy. It is okay to let the people vote and conduct politics in the open without developing a totalitarian dictatorship built around a cult of personality.

      Stop defending these assholes because they speak pretty words that fall in line with your politics. A dictator is a dictator, regardless if he hides behind divine right, military power, fascist ideals, capitalist ideals, or even socialist ideals.
    6. Re:Actually... by mmdog · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ...There are a great many Americans who expect Bush to pull some kind of trick to remain in office past 2008 Care to back up this wild ass statement with any sort of poll or something? While I'll gladly concede that there are people who believe this, I'll also concede that there are people who say the holocaust didn't happen, that Elvis is still alive and that there really is a tooth fairy.

      Seriously, you think the same American people who just handed power to the democrats would stand for anything of the sort? I think you should consider expanding your list of reading/viewing choices, it might bring you a few steps toward reality.

      I will say this much though: If Bush & Co. do manage some sort of martial law take over, it's all the friggin gun control nuts to thank for making it impossible for us to fight back. That IS exactly the situation the founding fathers had in mind when they put in the second ammendment.
      --
      Politicians are like diapers - they should be changed frequently and for the same reasons.
    7. Re:Actually... by yeOldeSkeptic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Consider this scenario:

      Litko is a foreman of Ajax Chemical's main factory. When ABC Chem got embroiled in a legal scandal, Litko used the ensuing confusion and lack of supervision to sell off parts of ABC Chem's factories. He also used ABC Chem's property as collateral for loans with banking institutions, made sales deals with clients for ABC Chem products and then kept the profits. Litko also invested ABC Chems money and kept them for himself.

      After four years, ABC Chem was finally was able to shake off the legal scandal and moved towards controlling its factories again. They soon found out that Litko is now a multi-billionaire and that he already owns most of the erstwhile property of ABC Chem.

      ABC Chem decided to retrieve the wealth that they believe ABC Chem is legally and morally entitled to. Unfortunately, because Litko is now an oligarch, Litko is able to hire the best lawyers and is able to fend off the legal barrage for as long as possible while he makes his escape to London. In London, he settles comfortably and uses his new-found wealth to buy a football club.

      In all definitions of the term, Litko is a criminal.

      From the article:

      The chess master, however, sees cracks in the Kremlin wall and believes that Mr Putin will give him an opening for a counter-attack. Mr Kasparov argues that, despite the oil riches, the vast majority of Russians are increasingly enduring economic hardship that will burst to the surface politically next year.

      Mr. Kasparov, the grandmaster, should ask himself exactly where did Mr. Berezovsky and Mr. Russian Owner of the Chelsea Football Club get their money to become stupendously wealthy in such a short time.

      Unlike Mr. Kasparov, the majority of Russians (those 80% that support Putin) are aware that Berezovsky and his ilk are the Litkos who raped Russia of its natural wealth during the confusion of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

      Mr. Kasparov does not have to look very far in search of where Russia's wealth went. He need only stare in the direction of his financial backers.

    8. Re:Actually... by Venik · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's what they've been saying about Yeltsin: that he's gonna change the constitution and remain in power. Well, he didn't. And he didn't want to. Moreover, he resigned early and appointed Putin as acting President, thus assuring his own worry-free retirement. Yeltsin's approval ratings at the time were extremely low. Nevertheless, during the early presidential elections a few months later a vast majority of Russians voted for Yeltsin's appointee - Putin, even though most Russians knew nothing about the man.

      Now Putin, with his near-80% approval rating (stop and think about this number for a moment), can probably chose his Labrador named Koni as the next presidential candidate, and Russians will vote for the dog. Why? Russians want stability. They are tired of revolutions, wars, and Perestroikas. Now they want a decent paycheck, a car, and a house. Don't misunderstand me, Russians have nothing against democracy, freedom of speech, and human rights. However, history taught them to be a bit more cynical and pragmatic than some of their Western neighbors.

      "Give me liberty or give me death," said Patrick Henry. It just so happened that every time Russians adopted this approach, they got the shitty end of the stick. I can't blame them for playing it safe now. Today's Russia is a huge improvement over the bloody chaos of Gorbachev's and Yeltsin's era. Things in Russia will improve over time. And, since we are talking about Russia, it may take awhile. For everyone's benefit, Washington and London should keep their dirty snouts out of Russia's business and be happy with the gas and oil they are getting.

  3. Re:80% approval rating? by Sciros · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hmmm well the best answer to that is, think about what Stalin's "approval rating" would have been during his rule? I would venture 100%. And not out of popular fear, but popular love and admiration. The 80% does not surprise me in the least, and doesn't make me think "oh, he must be a swell guy after all" for a second.

    --
    I like basketball!!1!
  4. Re:"news relevant to United States politics" by nevergleam · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This country the article speaks of was the United States' bitter rival for over 50 years, and between the two, the shape of politics throughout the entire world was molded. Russia was supposedly won over by our plan for government, was supposedly no longer a threat to us, but when we look over there now, we see a country that is falling into the same millenia-old habits and a country that probably deep down still holds a lot of resentment of the United States of America.

    How does this not effect our foreign policy and our politics?

  5. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion