EU Moves To Add FIDE President Dvorkovich To Russia Sanctions List
Fri, 17 Jul 2026
The European Commission has proposed visa bans and asset freezes against Arkady Dvorkovich over his public support for the war in Ukraine, reviving a push that Hungary's previous government had blocked.
The European Commission has proposed adding FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich to its Russia sanctions list, citing his public support for the war in Ukraine and his role at the Russian Chess Federation, which the Commission says normalized the invasion by organizing tournaments in occupied Ukrainian territory. The proposal is part of a broader 21st sanctions package first put forward in June.Dvorkovich, a former Russian deputy prime minister, has been proposed for EU sanctions before. Hungary's previous government, under Viktor Orban, vetoed earlier attempts. Since Orban's April 2026 election defeat to Peter Magyar, EU officials have revived the push as part of a broader sanctions package targeting more than 250 Russian individuals and entities.The path to this point has not been straightforward: Dvorkovich was reportedly excluded from an earlier draft of the sanctions list pending final review, only for his name to reappear in subsequent versions as negotiations among member states continued — a pattern consistent with the broader package's difficult passage, which observers have described as a compromise full of carve-outs won by individual governments.FIDE has not issued a formal response to the latest proposal. If adopted, the sanctions would bar Dvorkovich from traveling to EU member states, raising practical questions about his ability to attend federation business inside Europe — a complication that would arrive in the middle of his campaign for a third term as FIDE President.The sanctions package requires unanimous agreement among EU member states to take effect, and with Hungary no longer positioned to block Dvorkovich's inclusion, attention has shifted to whether any other member state might raise objections before a final vote.