The top authorities of tournament chess in the world have sharply rebuked Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) banned Russians from competing under their own flag. Also, Moscow was banned from hosting the Chess Olympiad that's slated for this summer.
Now, former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who is president of FIDE, is joining the chess world in speaking out against Russian aggression.
Speaking to Mother Jones, Dvorkovich has possibly become one of the only former senior Kremlin officials to openly criticize Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“Wars are the worst things one might face in life…including this war,” he said.
READ MORE: Ukraine invasion has revealed a previously unknown Russian weapon system
“My thoughts are with Ukrainian civilians,” said Dvorkovich, who served under Vladimir Putin for 10 years. “Wars do not just kill priceless lives. Wars kill hopes and aspirations, freeze or destroy relationships and connections.”
Dvorkovich clarified that he is "not involved with any state-owned commercial companies” anymore. “There are some non-commercial public activities I am involved in, mostly in the areas of education and innovation.”
Nevertheless, Dvorkovich has found himself of the target of ire from some Ukrainian chess grandmasters, 28 of whom signed a letter calling for his resignation, calling him someone with Kremlin ties who is “responsible for the formation of Russia’s aggressive foreign policy.”
“I believe Dvorkovich should resign…[FIDE] can’t be ruled by Russia with bloody Russian money," said former FIDE world champion and Ukrainian Ruslan Ponomariov.
As Mother Jones points out, the criticism is why Dvorkovich spoke out, and he doesn’t shy away from calling the invasion a “war,” which is a word banned in Russian media.
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