structural:expansion, structural:scholar_edition
Armenia

In a 2020 interview discussing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Kasparov stated that the Republic of Artsakh has a right to independence and that Azerbaijan has no sovereign right over it. He considers this stance to be objective and without bias, as Soviet law allowed for autonomous republics (such as the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast) to vote for independence separately and were given an equal right for self-determination, a factor he felt often went ignored. Kasparov recalled that he was criticised by Armenians for not taking a strong stance when the Karabakh movement began in 1988, explaining that he was living in Baku with 200,000 other Armenians at the time and did not want to increase tensions. Kasparov and his family later fled Baku in January 1990 to escape pogroms against Armenians. Kasparov has declined invitations back to visit Baku, stating he would only return "if every other Armenian born there can do it without a problem and without special favors from the government."

He welcomed the Velvet Revolution in Armenia in 2018. Kasparov supports Armenian genocide recognition.