Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov: I have several things in common with my guest in this episode. Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen and I were both born into Soviet republics. We both became chess grand masters, and we both left chess to enter politics. I think it is fair to say that while I reached greater heights in the chess world, as a former speaker of the Lithuanian legislature, she definitely rose higher in the political world.
Her home of Vlinius, Lithuania, has a special place in my heart. My first chess baptism by fire outside my home city of Baku, Azerbaijan, came at the All-Union Youth Games in Vilnius in 1973. I was just 10 while most of my opponents were four or five years older. I did not perform well, but I did meet Alexander Sergeevich Nikitin: state trainer of the U.S.S.R. Sports Committee, my future friend, mentor, and reliable supporter in the most difficult periods of my chess career.
From The Atlantic, this is Autocracy in America. I’m Garry Kasparov.
Kasparov: Putting nostalgia aside, Lithuania has become a hot spot as one of the most ardent defenders of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. Lithuania also recognizes that, should Ukraine fall, it is at the top of the list of targets for Putin’s attempt to rebuild the Soviet Union in his image.
But despite obvious threats, this Baltic country has offered refuge to many Russian political dissidents. All of this is why I wanted to speak with Viktorija. She’s part of a conversation now unfolding all across Europe about how to face newly aggressive authoritarian states, as the United States reevaluates its role as the global leader of the free world.
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