Garry Kasparov, a Russian opposition figure and the 13th world chess champion, canceled a trip to Berlin after security services warned of a possible threat to his life, the German tabloid Bild reported.
Kasparov was scheduled to speak at Berlin Freedom Week, a new initiative in the city where the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The event runs from November 7 to 14 and includes about 170 events dedicated to democracy and human rights. Instead of traveling, he recorded a video address for participants, acknowledging reports that Russia was trying to kill him. He said security professionals had strongly advised him against the trip because it would be an unjustifiable risk.
He told participants: "You must recognize that you have allowed Europe to become the playground of Vladimir Putin. If he can reach me here, he can reach anyone." "To your wives and children, to your colleagues."
The cancellation follows warnings in early October from U.S. and Lithuanian security services that his life was in danger. In late September, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that Russian authorities had spent several months planning to kill Kasparov in the United States. U.S. authorities also said they had uncovered a five-person group preparing assassination attempts against Russian dissidents on Moscow's orders.
Lithuanian authorities also warned another dissident, Ivan Tyutrin, who is based in Vilnius, to leave urgently and escape his car, according to AFP. Russia declared Kasparov a terrorist and issued an arrest warrant for him in December 2025.
Kasparov, who lives in the United States, said he had been warned to take precautions and would continue to do so.
