Garry Kasparov, Chairman, Human Rights Foundation; Former World Chess Champion; Author, Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped; Twitter: @Kasparov63 
Kori Schake, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution—Moderator

The ascension of Vladimir Putin, a former lieutenant colonel of the KGB, to the presidency of Russia in 1999 might have been a signal that the country was headed away from democracy. Critics charge that the U.S. and other leading world powers have continued to appease him, while Putin has grown into a dictator and a global threat.

Garry Kasparov has been a vocal critic of Putin for over a decade, even leading the pro-democracy opposition to him in the controversial 2008 presidential election. He has concluded that Putin's Russia defines itself in opposition to the free countries of the world. Kasparov now urges a forceful stand, both diplomatic and economic, against Putin. Kasparov makes a call to action against what he sees as an unmistakable threat.