Garry Kasparov

Human Rights Activist

Russia

Political activist, author, and former world chess champion. An outspoken critic of the Soviet system, Kasparov became the youngest world chess champion in history in 1985 and held the top spot for 20 years. He retired from professional chess in 2005 to help lead the Russian pro-democracy movement against the rising dictatorship of Vladimir Putin. In 2012, Kasparov was named Chairman of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation, succeeding Václav Havel. In 2017, he founded the Renew Democracy Initiative, dedicated to civics education and promoting the principles of the free world.