December 13, 2007

Kasparov Not Running For Russian President

UPDATED.

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov accused the Kremlin of squashing his presidential campaign by making it impossible for him to meet election requirements.

The outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin said that he was being prevented from holding supporters meetings in Moscow. According to BBC News, "Under Russian election law, presidential contenders who are not affiliated to one of four major parties that won seats in parliament must provide the details of two million supporters across the country. Such contenders must also organise an 'initiative group' meeting of at least 500 supporters before a December deadline."

Kasparov said that his Other Russia party had secured venues only to be informed later that it couldn't have those locations after all. "They refuse to give us the hall for technical reasons," he said during his announcement yesterday that he was abandoning his presidential run.

Kasparov had almost no shot in the March elections. On Monday, Putin tapped 42-year-old Gazprom Chairman Dmitry Medvedev to be his successor. As expected, Medvedev then announced that he would ask Putin to be his prime minister, ensuring the former KGB officer remains in control of Russia even though he is barred by law from keeping the office of president.

The Kremlin has in recent years cracked down on opposition figures, violently at times. Kasparov is somewhat protected by his international renown, though he claims he has been intimidated by the authorities on occasion. His criticisms of the Kremlin come at a time when Washington and its European partners are re-evaluating their alliance with the regime in Moscow.

Also yesterday, Russia escalated a feud with Britain when it announced it was shuttering the British Council's offices in Moscow. Officials accused the nongovernmental diplomatic organization of operating "illegally" and violating Russian tax laws, the London Guardian reports. Sources told the paper that the move was in retaliation for London's refusal to drop an inquiry into the 2006 radiation poisoning of ex-KGB spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko. Both Washington and London have called on Moscow to extradite the man charged with Litvinenko's death, Andrei Lugovoi, also a former KGB officer.

Posted at 11:23 AM
Posted to: Russia, Vladimir Putin
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