Baltic States – CIS, Latvia, Legislation, Russia

The application has been filled out in Latvian and there are all the relevant documents attached, said Latvkovskis.

He believes though that Kasparovs' reasons are insufficient. Kasparov is requesting Latvian citizenship for "special merits", mentioning that he won a youth chess competition in Latvia in the 1970s, points out Latkovskis.

Kasparov informs in his application that his life has been connected with Latvia since the days of his youth, when he achieved several important chess victories in Latvia the 1970s. The mother of Kasparov's son is a citizen of Latvia, whereas his son has a Latvian residence permit and visits Riga on a regular basis.

Respectful attitude to the people and human rights is part of Latvia's permanent democratic values. There is no ethnic discrimination, nor dictatorial power in Latvia, and all national matters are decided by the people of Latvia through their democratically elected representatives – Saeima members. Every person in Latvia has the right to freely express his or her opinion and participate in the political process without being afraid of unlawful persecution, points out Kasparov.

Kasparov notes that, as a citizen of Latvia, he will be able to contribute greatly to school and student education programs with the help of Kasparov Chess Foundation, and that such programs have been introduced in many countries worldwide.

He also points out that, as a citizen of Latvia, he will have an opportunity pursue his political activities in the name of democracy, peace and justice in Russia and other countries where there are human rights violations and trampling of democratic norms.

The Citizenship Law stipulates that a person who has rendered special meritorious service for the benefit of Latvia may be admitted to a Latvian citizenship by a decision of Saeima.