Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who is also an expert on the psyche of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has detailed how to isolate and ultimately defeat him following the invasion of Ukraine.
“Since I answered so many of the questions I’m getting today on Putin and Ukraine, and more, in my book Winter Is Coming, I’m pinning it,” Kasparov tweeted. “I hoped it would be history by now, but thanks to Putin and free world apathy, it’s still a current event.
"Support Ukraine militarily, immediately, everything but boots on the ground. All weapons, intel, cyber. Bankrupt Putin's war machine," he wrote. "Freeze & seize Russia's finances & those of him and his gang. Kick Russia out of every intl & financial institution. PACE, Interpol, etc."
The international community should “Recall all ambassadors from Russia. There is no point in talking. The new unified message is ‘stop or be isolated completely,’" he added. "Ban all elements of Putin's global propaganda machine. Turn them off, shut them down, send them home. Stop helping the dictator spread lies & hate.”
Kasparov wrote further that there is a need to “Expose and act against Putin's lackeys in the free world. If [Gerhard] Schröder and his ilk continue to work for Putin, bring charges. Ask the owners & advertisers of networks platforming Putin propagandists like [Fox’s Tucker] Carlson why they allow it.”
Lastly, he wrote that the global community must boycott “Russian oil & gas. Pressure OPEC, increase production, reopen Keystone. You can't save the planet if you don't save the people on it.
"Acknowledge there will be costs, sacrifices," he warned. "We waited too long, the price is high, but it will only get higher. It's time to fight.”
He tweeted the five messages to his almost 700,000 followers on Twitter. The tweets went viral straight away.
The chess grandmaster authored “Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped” in 2015, a year after Putin illegally seized Crimea from Ukraine.
“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014 ended any reasonable doubts as to his nature and threat,” Kasparov said. “Any attempts to negotiate with Putin since then were corruption, cowardice, and cynicism. He should have been isolated instantly. Instead, here we are.”
Kasparov, a Russian dissident and human rights advocate, has been one of the lone voices warning Western leaders over the decades not to appease Putin. He said on Thursday that "Western leaders rarely listened to Russian opposition leaders, and rarely acted when they did listen to us. Is it too much to ask for them to listen to Ukrainian leaders now?" he asked.
When asked on Twitter if Russians will revolt against Putin, Kasparov answered: “There is always a chance. Dictatorships are hard but brittle. If the blitzkrieg fails and Putin is faced with too many casualties to hide and more information gets through, the 1000s protesting today could become a million. But after 21 years it is hard.
"I wonder what the American tech giants could do to help get the truth to the Russian people. Most get news from state TV, unfortunately, but Apple, Facebook, Google and the rest still have considerable reach. But courage: usually none."
Kasparov took Germany to task for its alleged appeasement of Putin: "Germany still refusing to send weapons to Ukraine after funding Putin's war machine for years, or even to remove Russia from SWIFT. Neutrality between good and evil sides with evil, always."