Garry Kasparov: Cut off Putin's money and the oligarchs will get rid of him

If you only know Garry Kasparov as a Russian chess champion, you need to get to know the side of him that advocates for human rights, especially as a board member of the Human Rights Foundation, and especially this his focus on the oppressive policies of Vladimir Putin.

Kasparov, how has had more experience with Russian politics than you or I could ever dream of, and if Western leaders should listen he is trying to show them how you weaken Putin. He does indeed have an Achilles' Heel, and Western nations can put it in play if they ever find in themselves the temerity to do so: As I have said for years, it is a waste of time to attempt to discern deep strategy in Mr. Putin's actions. There are no complex national interests in a dictator's calculations. There are only personal interests, the interests of those close to him who keep him in power, and how best to consolidate that power. Without real elections or a free media, the only way a dictator can communicate with his subjects is through propaganda, and the only way he can validate his power is with regular shows of force.

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. . . Thanks to their unfettered access to Western markets, Mr. Putin and his gang have exploited Western engagement with Russia in a way that the Soviet Union's leaders never dreamed of. But this also means that they are vulnerable in a way the Soviets were not. If the West punishes Russia with sanctions and a trade war, that might be effective eventually, but it would also be cruel to the 140 million Russians who live under Mr. Putin's rule. And it would be unnecessary. Instead, sanction the 140 oligarchs who would dump Mr. Putin in the trash tomorrow if he cannot protect their assets abroad. Target their visas, their mansions and IPOs in London, their yachts and Swiss bank accounts. Use banks, not tanks. Thursday, the U.S. announced such sanctions, but they must be matched by the European Union to be truly effective. Otherwise, Wall Street's loss is London's gain, and Mr. Putin's divide-and-conquer tactics work again.

Putin's regime is crony capitalism taken to its logical extreme. As long as Russian oligarchs are knee-deep in hookers and vodka, they'll let Putin stay in control. Once that's jeopardized, they're going to look for a different solution. Whatever his faults, Boris Yeltsin was trying to establish economic ties to the West. He saw that as Russia's best way forward economically. But he didn't exercise very good judgment in tapping Putin as his hand-picked successor. Putin is a corrupt political machine operator who stays in power by manipulating the use of Russia's natural gas resources to reward the people who can turn around and use their capital to keep him in power. Putin needs access to Western markets and Western resources in order to pull that off, and if he loses it, no amount of military power can save him. The shame is that Russia's energy resources could and should make it a very strong player on the free-market global scene. There is no need for the corruption if the goal is to make prosperous. But that's not the goal of Putin or the oligarchs that are keeping him in power. The West needs to listen to Kasparov and take away the economic tools that allow these characters to keep this con game alive.