Kasparov, a former world chess champion who has turned into one of the fiercest critics of the Russian government, apparently thought Russia's loss to Croatia in the last eight in Sochi was a good time to remind the world of himself and his controversial political beliefs.

"Bravo Hrvatska!  I only wish the free world would show the same resilience fighting Putin's advances in the geopolitical field as the Croatians demonstrated on the football field!" Kasparov wrote.