Gary Kasparov flee's the Attacks on Armenians

Profile: King of the chessboard; Garry Kasparov rules as king of the
chessboard and is also astute in the world of politics 

Morley Safer, co-host:

[SAFER] Perhaps the most successful Soviet dissident to date isn't an 
author or artist.  He's, of all things, a chess player.  His name  is Garry
Kasparov, and chess has made him not only a millionaire, but  a
king-maker of sorts.  Since the mid-'80s, he's been the player at  the
board and a player in the risky business of Russian politics.                      
   
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SAFER: (Voiceover) There was no shortage of difficult moments for  a
young genius born into the Soviet system.  Politics were as  irresistible
as chess.  He realized from the age of reason that  there was something
terribly rotten in the state of Russia.  An  outsider from the start, from
Baku in the Republic of Azerbaijan,  born Garryck Weinstein, the child of
an Armenian mother and a Jewish  father who died when Garry was
just seven.

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SAFER: (Voiceover) But in the rematches, the fading Soviet system 
couldn't save the fading Karpov.  And Garry Kasparov, at age 22, 
became the youngest world champion in history.  He was grandmaster 
of the universe, romping on the beaches of Baku with his mother and  his
friends. It was the late '80s, the time of glasnost and  perestroika, a time
when the West believed the Soviets under Mikhail  Gorbachev were truly
reforming.  But Kasparov, looking many moves  ahead, wasn't buying
Gorbachev's message.

Mr.  KASPAROV: If you li--listened to what he said--repeatedly  said, you
know, he wanted to improve Communist system.  Every time  he
repeated the same story, 'We wanted the socialism with a human  face.'
And my constant reply was that Frankenstein also had a human  face.

(Footage of helicopter; fighting; residents; victims)

SAFER: (Voiceover) His fears were horribly realized when  Azerbaijanis
in Baku and elsewhere turned on their Armenian  neighbors, including
many of Kasparov's friends and relatives.  It  was an ethnic bloodbath
many believed was provoked by Gorbachev to  quash independence
and keep the Communists in power.

(Footage of Soviet troops)

Mr.  KASPAROV: (Voiceover) Suddenly you saw the troops. 
Red--the--the Red Army entered the city.  Official reason was to  save
the--the Armenians, but there were no Armenians in the city.  You know,
the--the reason was very simple: to save the regime, to  save, you
know, the--the--the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, and to  replace it
with the right man, the man from Moscow.

SAFER: You chartered a plane to...

Mr.  KASPAROV: Yeah.

SAFER: ...get people out.

Mr.  KASPAROV: Yeah, 64 people.  Yeah.  But I never came back.  And I
didn't know if I will ever come.

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Source: Steven R Tombalakian
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This page last updated June, 1997