It’s been an interesting week here in Helsinki, where I have been attending the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum. In addition to showing my short documentary film on the Nord Stream project (which produced a spirited debate), I had the opportunity to speak with the leader of the United Civic Front, the grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who had come to Finland to support his friend for a Europarliament election. I took the opportunity to ask Garry for his thoughts on Russia’s ambitious pipeline projects.

– Garry, the future of the gas pipeline along the bottom of the Baltic now depends to a large extent on the Finns and the Swedes. Here in Finland, as in other countries bordering the Baltic Sea, this project is being broadly discussed, especially from an ecological perspective. Yet very few are well informed about it in Russia. How would you explain this?