steadily destroying my country. he's dictator who is quite desperate for staying in power, and now he has been searching for enemies outside of russia since he ran out of enemiesa inside the country. that's what's happened with i dictators before. youtr know, it's inevitable, the it's a vicious circle that i have been saying that vladimir putin who was for a long time our problem, russian problem, would eventually be everyone's problem. and we can see now that he has expansionist plans which now are spreading way beyond former soviet union borders. he has been elected and democratic elections and the other high approval rating? guest: let's look at these things. let's go back to the year 2000. in 2000-2004,tion they had thousands of real actions. it was not fair at all. in 2012, when he returned to power, but of course, he never left power. it was just a charade. and i have always said that in russia, we are not trying to win elections, we're just trying to have elections because it is putin's russia. register at political party without his debates, you can have and the elections were rigged. and he has never participated in a single debate. and everybody understands now in russia and outside of russia, elections in russia are not going to change anything. propaganda -- it is a democratic institution. book, you write that his russia is the biggest and most dangerous threat facing the world today. guest: absolutely. host: so mitt romney got it right in 2012? right but it is something you have to understand -- you should look at the true nature of his regime. obama hasy president attacked this conflict and romney defended. putin controls, that is a very important fact. and of course he is a militant throw tot russia can the global stage and putin is a dictator in the final stage of his role, which means that he needs conflict. he is quite good at creating conflict. requires energy. the economy doesn't offer an excuse. no one expects the russian economy to get better or worse, that is why putin has present andpublic with this concept this is his great, invincible and a manof russia who can defy the free world. host: we are going to put the numbers up on the screen. his book is about the soviet union and vladimir putin. up onl put the numbers the screen. if you are a democrat, (202) 748-8000. if you are a republican, (202) 748-8001. and if you are an independent, (202) 748-8002. guest: you just said soviet union. [laughter] host: i apologize. guest: it is freudian. putin has been trying to resurrect that. his action in 2000 was to restore the soviet union. host: let's go back to your book, the soviet union existed in 2001 -- in 1991. what was vladimir putin like in that time? when the wall came down? he appeared in moscow as the head of the kgb in 1998, before, he was the right hand and i was in st. petersburg in 1996, a few months before the election. recall seeing putin there. he probably waited for his moment. when --quite surprised brought him in and gave him power. tourat he did in his first doe realized that he could things inside russia and also use russian resources. jumped and putin had a lot of money in his hands. host: the soviet system -- did a benefit you growing up, becoming the chess champion? absolutely. as someone who grew up in the soviet union and was a chess prodigy, i enjoyed the privilege of support and opportunity to work with my great predecessors. talent, youstrated could enjoy this process. chess was a very important ideological tool to demonstrate stability of the regime. like what was your life growing up in the system? did you have a privileged life? i got tos, because travel the globe. my first trip aboard was in 1976. it had a big impact on me because they could start to see the difference, but my privileges were connected to my successes. so as long as i could werestrate that my skills better than other players, i .ecame the challenger but when i prompted to the world champion, i was taken. because as much as the soviet system like it's players to -- and protect the lori, the soviet officials didn't like that -- this small outpost was at this stage, challenging. so i did have plenty of problems of my own. there were several moments where i divide -- in 1985, i gave an interview for a magazine that -- i did give a playboy interview. i talked about america and the free world. was the first soviet athlete to -- the soviet flag. i have the russian flag next to me at the table. host: you ran for president. guest: you are misleading or audience. youing for audience -- think you have a super pac, you campaign, all you did in russia, it was me and a friend, a colleague, you demonstrate that the political system under vladimir putin did not allow anybody outside of the system to participate in the democratic process. want to get your reaction to this video we are going to show from 2001. you will recognize what it is. will ask a question, i will look the man in the. i found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. we had a very good dialogue. i was able to get a sense of his soul, the man committed to his country, who has the best interests of his country at his heart. and i appreciate that. there was no diplomatic chitchat , trying to throw each other off balance. it was just straightforward dialogue. it is the beginning of a constructive relationship. i wouldn't have invited him to my ranch if i didn't trust him. huge time for the kgb. my immediate reaction was for george w. bush, not to look him in his eyes. once kgb, always kgb. this remark see from the u.s. president, it demonstrated that vladimir putin created thed and foundation for a political corporation. and his propaganda has been using -- i have to give him credit, they did it well, presenting the confession and also with the democratic leaders, the peak was 2006 where vladimir putin was a chair of a meeting with all of the readers of the free world. which you could dismiss claims from people like me, claiming he was a dictator. for the russians it was, there was no choice but to believe. you have all of the leaders who just excepted him as a member of this most procedures democratic club. picture putin had the to his credential and that was andhe solidified his power deflected the criticism and attempts to bring russia back to the democratic royal. has it become a personality? you will see the pictures. guest: absolutely. because that is what a dictator needs. debates, it is about the strength. the strength that he radiates to the public. the propaganda machine knows this. and they have created the image .f a strong man every appearance is well prepared and well measured. so the russian public has a understandingty how strong is or how weak he is. as vladimirted putin, the great. i can remind viewers about his recent trip to the general assembly of the united nations, he met with barack obama and the reluctant handshake. i bet he had been practicing for hours in front of the mirror for that image of the television. beast in the belly of the and the next day, a russian plane bombed the american -- that is a show of power. how can you challenge a dictator who is not afraid to show how influential. someone tries to shake his hand and show corporation. host: this article is from this morning, public support for prudent drowns out critics. it mentions the crash in egypt. others began to insinuate that the government could never be trusted to tell the truth. if the bomb theory was proved, vladimir putin would have to the state authority to explain that this had nothing to andith the syrian campaign yet the critics appear to be far outnumbered by those who back him. know whatin, we don't the russians really think you because thely think propaganda control the airwaves and very few russians are listening to alternative sources of information. believe that when we talk about the tragedy in egyptian skies, it is called stockholm syndrome. for many russians, i can share you want toon, connect the tragedy, if it was a bomb -- it is a long investigation ahead of us and i'm not sure i know the but iions of the plane could believe that it was a technical problem. but now it looks more like it was a bomb. it basically recognizes that everybody is now -- defenseless against the threat which is not terrorismn, but it is which can go anywhere. i think the public is quite scared but also, for many years they have believed and they were told by the propaganda machine, that putin could solve all the problems. yes, maybe we were in trouble, but they have been so skillful in that. host: stephen, you are on. caller: thank you for taking my call. i want to express my condolences to the people of st. petersburg, apparently they were flying back from the sinai peninsula in this terrible accident. surprised that vladimir react.idn't ,is lack of real human sympathy this is shocking. what is your take on this? how do you think this will play out politically? vladimir putin has proved -- toimes before that begin with, war and the bombings and the crisis, with hostages 2002. in the terrible tragedies. 330situation with the people killed after russian troops stormed the building. and what we know is that after every crisis and tragedy, he always took his time to prepare the measure of response. i think this was unexpected. to put outhe managed a statement that could reflect his policies. right now, i don't think that russian government is clear that it is a bomb. but if you read the russian there you can see that were any connections to the attack, the egyptian authorities and -- they have the interest of deflecting this. a terrorist attack could 8 -- could be a massive blow to vladimir putin. it could also be a blow to the egyptian authorities because it will be a blow to them. what about the plane crash over the ukraine? it was shot down? guest: it was a russian missile. the only question is if it was in the hands of russian terrorists. most likely, it was done by a russian crew. it is a very complicated system. it isn't something you can use from your shoulder. it is a system that is used with professionals to handle with experience and from my information that i've gathered, it seems that it was a russian crew and why they made this mistake, that remains to be seen. but i'm doubtful. i'm doubtful the crime was committed by russian terrorists. host: bill is calling in on the republican line. go ahead, bill. caller: good morning gentlemen. rt a lot. can learn a lot about russia, a lot more than you are learning from listening to this guy. putin is adimir strong leader. i think most of the world thinks he is a strong leader. he appears to have solved the problem in syria. negotiating and using diplomacy. at the last hour when they had chemical weapons and they were going to use them on their own people. and that did turn out to be false. why yoully don't see keep calling him a dictator. it is troubling to me. host: a response? guest: we can start with the definition of a dictatorship. it is someone who shows no intention of sharing power and cooling absolutely. here because of the rt poisoning. host: russian today? guest: yes, it is the best financed television in the world. russia has and expose problems with cash. it keeps spending more money on military and on propaganda. with the system, they are great beneficiaries. it will deftly not give you a good picture of the world because you will become a hostage of putin's views of what is happening in russia and outside of russia. thatue against the claims ssad has not used chemical weapons against his people, i'm sure he has. of putin's engagement, russia plays a steady -- islamic state with american backed rebels and killing hundreds of innocent civilians and at least 100,000 more refugees now leaving syria, creating more problems in turkey and in europe , thus helping him in the situation. he has a way to insert his powers. host: we will play another piece of video. this is president obama talking about vladimir putin. if you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops there in ally to prop up your only then we have a different definition of leadership. my definition would be leaving , mobilizinghange the entire community to make sure that iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon. and with respect to the middle east, we have a coalition. that russia arguing strategy will not work. >> my point is not that he is leading, but that he is challenging your leadership. he has involved himself in that situation. can you imagine anything significant happening in syria without his involvement? >> that was true before. keep in mind that for the last five years, they have provided arms and financing, as of the iranians. >> and they haven't had troops on the ground? >> and that wasn't an indication of strength. is thathat i can see putin is sending his jets and ,ow military personnel to syria and obama keeps sending john kerry, he is calling the shots. vision now is ablaze. and that is what putin needs because he has to try to do everything he can to push up oil prices. at $50, even keeping it there, that will avoid a budget collapse, until two years time. why he will look for every opportunity to involve other countries in the region, and he is not attacking the islamic state now because he hopes that he will eventually start conversation with the saudi's. they hope to blow up saudi arabia and push oil prices up. and let's not forget, there is another state nearby. israel could be neutral in this they are there and they need the competition again to justify their existence. and if putin doesn't do this he will be in the region in iran to do the job. the next call comes from george in for genia. good morning. thank you for c-span. a great tool for democracy. a question, what do you see as soviet intentions in the caribbean? we see that with a ship called the cuba. they have reactivated the listening posts. we see them extending the influence and cooperation in venezuela and bolivia. what do you think? what is he up to in this part of the world? i don't know that you can say he has specific plans. but putin has the looking for every opportunity to extend his , he has working relations with cuba because he has written -- the debt. cuba as a strong russian ally. there are other countries in the continent who live left his government that putin could allies eventually in a new coalition to defy the united states. remember,important to this is important for domestic purposes. it has been demonstrated that -- he wasibility powerful enough to challenge the free world and he could keep up his image of a strong man in russia. host: wonderful tweets into you, have the russian people learned that a free society is not easy to sustain? are they willing to abandon it for return to old ways? guest: it takes time. unfortunately, in the 1990's, when there was power from the dictatorship in the democracy, russians could only see the benefit of the free society, because the economy was in a terrible shape. and there were those who thought the democracy had a dramatic rise. that was a shock. so that is why when vladimir putin took over, suddenly, things looked much better. it was a way of restoring the balance. and even though the elections were not free and fair, they happen. we could see a steady improvement of our conditions. that it will take major political defeat of vladimir putin for the russian people to understand that the result of him running the country for over 50 years was disastrous. when opportunist rebuilds the researcher of trillions of dollars -- not in our country. in my first year of an activist, i often said that lujan -- that putin was a russian problem for russia to solve but he would soon be a regional problem and then a global problem if his ambitions were toward. this regrettable transformation has come to pass and lives are being lost because of it. it is cold comfort to be told, you were right. it is even less comforting when so little is being done to halt putin's aggression now. what is the point of saying you should have listened and acted, when you still aren't listening or acting? guest: i think we're still dealing with the last 45 years in this town in washington, d.c.. russia, after the cold war and the collapse of berlin, it was no longer a substantial threat. , itsomehow, with relations has been built into an ally. you know, it'd start in the 1990's when america was in a powerful position and it could help russia to avoid many problems. there were problems on the international stage. few people remember when the in 1995.president -- the united states congress wanted to impose sanctions and cut financial aid to russia. is sweptunately it away. and we have a reaction to putin. what bothers me and what i am asking for a response when you read my book is a debate. a bipartisan debate about it. it is not about russia, it is about the world. the end of the cold war, if up until the beginning of the 1990's, all american administrations across, democrats and republicans, they could have differences. but there was an understanding. thenfter then, after 91 you know we could see pendulum swinging from one place to another. bush 43 would do too much and obama would do nothing and i think that's the problem and i hope this presidential election the debate for the general elections will help america to go back to the mode of the entity on foreign-policy agenda. >> host: in a review of "the new york times" the former "new york times" bureau chief one thing you said about winter is coming is the real problem with winter is coming is with this presumption that the u.s. is somehow responsible for what russia has become war for what it should be. >> guest: look he was an apologist for many years and you can google it. this is not only from him but you could hear his witnesses and his views on the political left and the political right like why should we bother. the globalized economy the world cannot ignore global security and the united states whether people like it or not is still viewed as the most powerful country that could be a leading position or can stay away or walk away. away in today'salking globalized world, it is not going to work. everything that is global. trade, finances -- unfortunately, terrorism. because all of the beautiful tools we are using, they are [indiscernible] and pretending that with this world, it in this case, the united states could stay away to rely on to giant oceans protect america against terrorists, it is ignorant to the realities of the world. and unfortunately in the case of , there were many moments when the united states could to preventis power the deterioration. the republicafter of georgia, we know it was part of putin's plan, the united states grounded russia. [indiscernible] clear symbol that he could do whatever you wanted and [indiscernible] next step in's ukraine was the calculation that nobody would argue that he was a master of the universe. host: the next question comes from j in north carolina. yes, good morning. thank you for taking my call. russian investigators have made atputin's personal wealth $40 billion. criminal, if he was a he answered, no doubt on that. to answer howim putin acquired this huge wealth. i will take my answer off the air. guest: i think you are operating with very old news. i believe it is now way above $40 billion. today, we are regulating anyone in then human race and it is all connected to him staying in power. at$1 trillion if you look the russian budget and the only got fortunes. most of them are connected to him and oh him everything they have made. to evade taxes in russia. so part of this money is absolutely a case of a dictatorship. he is all-powerful and megarich. he is staying in power. is inwalking away and it the case of him, it is [indiscernible] you write about the corporate entities and you are -- and they are essentially apologists for the putin regime. guest: the fact is that corporations are above human domestic repressions in dictatorships? it is not news. these days, i'm reading a book called collaborations. so for years, there were titles and -- censorship. are -- propaganda to support them. unfortunately, it is the reality. it is a red line, written by the government, so what can be done and what should be done. and those economic tools or weapons, they have been used against russia, and they are not helping the -- the way they could and the united states could impose re-sanctions on russia. so, we will send a message. stop trying to engage him. do you recognize that following putin's policies, they are jeopardizing their own interests. again, i would like to see the strategy. i would like people to understa confronting putin today is very dangerous. -- he always takes delays and concessions and weaknesses as imitations. ,'m a member at his inaugural john kennedy said that we do not dare tempt our force with weakness. morning,tunately, this that is very actual these days. host: john is calling in from pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. pleasure speaking to you, i have been aware of your existence, you have been on the world stage for quite some time. andinitially, it was chess then it was politics. and i think you have a misperception about the united , there was an amorphous amount of hostility that our elites have four putin and russia. treating him contemptuously and and areng his strength now doing the opposite. fearful that he is going to invade nato, but if i could, i have a couple of comments and a question. if i could, you have to go back the -- era, he was an alcoholic and a disaster. that is when they grabbed the assets of the country and the ethnic russian grandmothers were begging in the streets. and they had their billions. appointed putin and he came in they appointed putin. he came in and immediately i think he changed the situation. obviously it took time but in the united states i were foreign-policy, we went into the middle east and because of the neoconservatives, which quite frankly mr. kasparov that the only association i have seen of you is being affiliated with the neoconservatives in the united states. the neoconservatives promoted, encouraged, got us involved in the wars in the middle east. we have lost trillions of dollars. >> host: all right john, a locker on the table. anything you want to respond to? >> guest: you can look at it today and see how many billionaires, many dozens of billionaires in russia and almost all of them are correctly connected to putin so russia is second place to the united states and for information go back and check in the year 2000 when yeltsin let office. i'm not here to discuss the details of the economy. i can recommend you to read my book because i'm not telling you about the strong versioning democracy. i'm highly critical of yeltsin's rule but he built a stable foundation for future change. corruption under yeltsin was a problem. corruption under putin is the system. that's a big difference. now about the united states i can also recommend you to read about your history and the nixon kennedy first televised debates where jfk was hawkish and of course the doctrine of defending democracy and communism is connected to the name of the great president harry truman who was a democrat and did a tremendous job saving hundreds of millions of people from expansionism. today again it's not an agenda of one group or another. we can unfortunately hear voices from far left to far right to bring america back home and your claim about america -- it's a long story. it's a lengthy debate but at the end of the day more and -- american corporations are the most successful multinational corporations that have been elsewhere and to pretend that america could walk away ignoring the most important comfort zones on the planet and at the same time u.s. corporations will be making this tremendous profit and to simply not understand the laws of physics that apply as well. you create a vacuum and a big case of the middle east this vacuum has been -- rapidly by putin. >> host: garry kasparov spent 20 years as the world's number one chess player. he retired from me pro-opposition to vladimir or putin. in 2012 he was made chairman of the human rights foundation succeeding backoff hovel of the czech republic and he has written a couple of bucks. his 2007 but how life imitates chess. chess has been published in 26 languages and his newest book is "winter is coming" why vladimir putin and the enemies of the free world must be stopped. greg is calling in from chattanooga, tennessee. hi greg. >> caller: hi, how are you all doing this morning? i was just wondering if putin has in turn russia into some kind of christian nation has he? >> guest: i doubt very much. you should not mix substance with presence. i don't know whether you can read russian are not bugs questionable pleasure reading what the leadership has been saying over the years and he would recognize it's basically soaring putin's interests rather than promoting churck christian events. >> host: the lost call -- the last call for garry kasparov comes from damascus. >> caller: good morning mr. kasparov. a couple of years ago on frontline on pbs that put on a documentary on putin which basically portrayed him as someone who bribed blackmailed and brutalized his way to power. also they talked about his accumulation of great wealth and i'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about that and also what you see as of the future for russia at this point. >> guest: i talked about putin and i could repeat that. he controls enormous amounts of money, more than any other individual and it's all connected to him staying in power. he can move hundreds of billions of dollars. next to the trillion dollars because he controls the russian budget and directly the fortunes of many oligarchs everything they have made over the years. so we don't expect putin to walk away from the kremlin peacefully. that's why unfortunately i don't have a good weather forecast for you. i always ask people not to be highly critical of the weatherman and the weather forecast. were -- russia will experience great turbulence. i will not exclude the possibility that eventually it could be capsized because there are many regions in the far east from eastern siberia and china with a growing threat of radical islamism and the whole country now is a full-blown one-man dictatorship. the moment he goes commando will happen eventually because it did happen before and it is the laws of history. assume it happens better the chance that russia will not collapse. i would say the dictator that has been in power for so long succeeded because he has created a political desert. the longer he stays in power for private desert heats and what kinds of creatures can survive in this very dry desert? rats, scorpions and vladimir putin unfortunately who have destroyed my country for so many years. it will happen soon enough for us. >> host: v tweets in see what if russia implodes if putin overextends? >> guest: unfortunately it's inevitable because putin has been destroying russia. let's remember russia, demographics finances military and everything else so russia cannot afford expansionist policies. by the way of also spreading thin is a big threat but the problem is putin doesn't care because he stays in power and that's all that matters for him. he has been throwing the future of russia just to buy more time to stay in power. he believes he is russia. >> host: one chess question comes from virginia tech send via a twee. mr. kasparov heavy challenge ibm watson to a match? if not, do you plan to? >> guest: it's actually a great accomplishment and it's a software project. 256 processors and each of them can move 1.5 million positions per second. i have succeeded in maximizing the algorithm of this processor project. watson as far as i know doesn't play chess and i also don't play chess. i retired 10 years ago. i am working to promote chess through the kasparov foundation of this country and another found -- other countries. my active role as a chess player has ended. >> host: when was the last time you were in russia? >> guest: i left russia in february 2013 and it's a very painful experience because that was not my first choice and received an invitation from russia to show up and to tell them about some of the political activities and our rallies and they knew they were about to launch this massive investigation that ended with a political trial and my friend and colleague advised me not to come back because he said you could enter the golden chasm. it's very painful not just because i had to leave the country and my mother who still is there but he is a great man, the prime minister under yeltsin and at one point yeltsin's successor. he was so brave and too proud to follow his own advice and he would come down in front of the kremlin last february this year and was quite tragic. it just tells you in putin's russia you are former deputy prime minister, you can no longer criticize because you will pay a horrible price. >> host: garry kasparov. here is the front of the book is blurred by senator john mccain "winter is coming" why vladimir putin and the enemies of the free world must be stopped. >> guest: there are four books and one is -- who accepted my suggestion and it was great because "winter is coming" was the end of history in 1992 where he said -- as we'll believed at that time. >> host: thank you for being on the program. >> could you have picked a more challenging topic? do you have it woman who disappeared from public view in 1941 when she was only 23 years old. where does a biographer even begin and more importantly maybe why? >> those are two great questions. why is easier to answer. back in 2005 i saw rosemary's obituary in the newspaper and it was like a three paragraph obituary in the "boston globe" and for some reason it just hit me. i had been vaguely aware of rosemary and of course i was very aware of the kennedy family having grown up in new england and i just thought this life, what happened to her? the women's historian, my antenna went up right away and i said why don't we know about her? i was working on a book project. when i did start reach searching her life it might have been a bit of naïveté on my part thinking i would be able to unearth all this information won't eny problem and i can write about this beautiful young woman and about what happened to her. the process took a lot longer than i thought because the record was a little bit spotty but over the years more and more papers became available so it made it easier but it is a challenge to write about somebody who disappears and who leaves no papers behind. >> tell us what you think about rosemary's life before the lobotomy in 1921. was she a happy child? was she integrated into the life of that family? >> rosemary was an adorable child, happy, but also she struggled and suffered in trying to compete with are much more capable siblings. she was integrated into the family when she was home and her siblings did a great job trying to accommodate her disabilities. they would play sports with her. they would go sailing with her and they would take her and help her to sailing and all the sports activities they were capable of doing by themselves she needed help but they accommodated her which of course it influence yunus as an adult to start special olympics. she knew sports was an important aspect for every human being but also for people with disabilities. so she was happy on the one hand. on the other hand she was very unhappy because of the struggles that she faced. her parents sent her off to many different schools over period of time years and that was very hard on a young child, teenager, young adult woman who is constantly separated from her family who she loved very very much and wanted to be with. her life had bright moments but also a lot of struggles. republican presidential candidate donald trump recently announced the publication of his newest book, crippled america. >> we were to book and the title crippled america was very tough but unfortunately we have to do what we have to do and i think one of the reasons we have been doing so well in the campaign is because we tell it like it is. we know that we owe 17 and 18 and now it's actually very soon going to be $19 trillion in debt. we have a military that doesn't have proper instruction from leadership. we don't know what we are doing. we are losing all over the world with trade deals. no matter what country you talk about, just pick a name out of a hat, they are beating us in trade. we can't go on like this any longer. it's impossible to go on with this any longer. i always mentioned as an example surgeon bergdahl. we get sergeant bergdahl and they get by the people they wanted. that's not the way it's going to work anymore. we tell lots of different stories. lots of different things and i think it's going to be instructional important to me. i think one of the reasons it was so successful is that it was largely instructional and even today when i speak so many people pulled up the book the art of the deal and the other books. this is one that's probably not not -- it was in a confined period of time so that it pertains to what was going on right now, the moment in time and we got it done. david did a fantastic job. where's david? david did a fantastic job and all of my people did a great job. they help me so much because we are doing a couple of other things right now. it's not easy getting the sin. >> do you want to watch this program again? is a booktv.org to watch any the programs you see here on line. type the author name or book title in the search bar at the top of the page and click the looking glass. you can also share any of the videos on our web site by clicking facebook twitter or share icon on the bottom right of the video box. booktv, since 1998 all the top nonfiction authors and books all available at booktv.org.

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