Intelligence career of Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin in KGB uniform c. 1980
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service / branch	КГБ СССР
Years of service	1975–1991
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	Fifth Department - Leningrad First Department - Leningrad First Chief Directorate - Dresden Directorate Z - Leningrad
Awards	Order of the Badge of Honour Medal "For Impeccable Service" - II Degree Medal "For Impeccable Service" - III Degree Distinguished Service Medal of the National People's Army - Bronze Badge of the German-Soviet Friendship Society

The intelligence career of Vladimir Putin, the incumbent President of Russia since 1999, spanned from 1975 to 1991 with the Committee for State Security (KGB) of the Soviet Union.

Initially, Putin served in the Fifth Chief Directorate, responsible for domestic counterintelligence, before transitioning to the First Chief Directorate, which handled foreign intelligence operations. For five years, Putin was stationed in Dresden, East Germany, assigned to Line N of Directorate S. In this role, he oversaw the recruitment of "illegal" agents and coordinated activities between the local KGB office and the Dresden branch of East Germany's Ministry for State Security (Stasi). Following his return to Leningrad in 1990, Putin worked in Directorate Z (the renamed Fifth Chief Directorate) under the assignment to observe Anatoly Sobchak, before formally leaving the KGB in 1991, holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Putin's KGB activities and their influence on his subsequent political ascent have been subjects of significant speculation and research. While neither Putin nor the Russian government has officially published a detailed biography addressing these years comprehensively, external researchers, such as Philip Short and Masha Gessen, along with archival materials from the former Stasi, have provided some insights into this period.

Pre-KGB Recruitment

There has been widespread speculation that Putin may have been influenced by his father, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin. Although Putin has confirmed that his father was a partisan during the Siege of Leningrad and throughout World War II, external researchers suggest that Vladimir Spiridonovich likely served under one of the destruction battalions of the NKVD, the precursor to the KGB. Putin's hesitancy to confirm this may be related to the fact that Vladimir Spirdonovich remained an NKVD informant after the war. Gessen has pointed out that the Putin family's personal telephone in their communal apartment, amongst other material possessions that were highly unusual at the time (a television set, a dacha, and a wristwatch for Putin), strongly indicates that his father maintained ties with the NKVD and its successor agencies.

Putin stated in various interviews that he originally aspired to become an airline pilot with Aeroflot and planned to enroll at the Civil Aviation Institute of Leningrad. He extensively studied aviation literature and subscribed to aviation-related journals. Anatoly Rakhlin, his sambo coach, believed that Putin could have continued to become a professional competitor and even a national champion. However, Putin's interest shifted toward a career in intelligence after being influenced by Soviet-era espionage media, such as reading biographies of notable intelligence figures such as Richard Sorge and Jan Berzin, and watching the 1968 film series The Shield and the Sword and the 1972 television series Seventeen Moments of Spring.

Following the television broadcast of The Shield and the Sword in September 1968, Putin visited the KGB headquarters in Leningrad and approached the reception office, where he was met by a counter-intelligence officer. After recording Putin's details, the officer explained that the KGB did not accept volunteers directly and advised Putin to pursue a university education. When Putin asked what degree would be most beneficial, the officer suggested law school. Despite concerns from friends and family, who worried that failure to secure university admission would result in Putin being drafted into the military, where hazing (dedovshchina) was widespread, Putin pursued this path. Putin also intensively studied the German language, hoping that it would improve his chances of being assigned to Foreign Intelligence. He successfully secured a highly competitive place at the Faculty of Law at Leningrad State University in 1970. Gessen speculates that while Putin, who had until then, never showed good academic performance, may have genuinely worked hard to gain admission, the KGB could have facilitated his acceptance.

Fifth Department of the Leningrad KGB (1975–1979)

Recruitment

In January 1974, Putin was approached by Colonel Dmitry Gantserov of the Leningrad KGB Personnel Department, tasked with identifying promising university students for potential recruitment. Following a thorough background investigation—which reportedly confirmed Putin's political reliability, psychological stability, and lack of Jewish ancestry (a common discriminatory criterion at the time)—he was approved for induction. Putin may have agreed to cooperate as an informant during his remaining time as a student at Leningrad State University, albeit he has provided inconclusive and contradictory statements about this, variously denying it but later admitting to performing "special tasks" from Gantserov. Putin formally joined the KGB on August 1, 1975, with the rank of junior lieutenant. He was initially assigned to a clerical position in the Leningrad KGB secretariat, where he performed administrative duties and familiarized himself with the internal workings of the organization. This initial assignment lasted until January 1976, after which he was sent to the KGB's 401st School in Okhta, Leningrad for a six-month introductory training course, offering instruction in surveillance, counterintelligence, cryptography, and operational tradecraft.

Work in the Fifth Department

From June 1976 until the late summer of 1979, the specifics of Putin's early career in the KGB remain ambiguous. Over the years, Putin has provided inconsistent accounts of this period. In earlier interviews, he stated that he was transferred "pretty quickly" to the First Department of the Leningrad KGB, while in later accounts, he claimed that the transfer occurred toward the "end of the 1970s." Putin has spoken only in vague terms about his work during this time, generally describing his role as involving counterintelligence. However, multiple associates—including Vladimir Agartanov, his KGB partner from Dresden, and Nikolai Vashchilin, his longtime judo partner—have stated that Putin was actually assigned to the Fifth Directorate. This department was responsible for monitoring and suppressing political dissent and opposition to the Communist Party. While this technically aligns with Putin’s broad characterization of his work in counterintelligence (which some observers have incorrectly conflated with the Second Chief Directorate, which performed counter-intelligence on foreigners), it also suggests a more politically repressive role than he has typically acknowledged.

Despite Putin’s public denials of involvement in operations targeting political dissidents, several former colleagues and acquaintances have confirmed that such activities were indeed part of his responsibilities during this period. He was reportedly tasked with monitoring various segments of Soviet society considered ideologically sensitive, including athletes, religious figures, and artists. One notable account comes from Sergei Roldugin, a close friend and cellist, who recalled accompanying Putin in April 1978 to observe an Orthodox Easter procession—an event of interest to the KGB due to the Church's perceived ideological influence. Agartanov later expressed surprise at Putin’s deep familiarity with "non-conformist" artists and intellectual circles, suggesting that his work involved detailed surveillance of cultural figures viewed as politically suspect.

While Putin has never confirmed being assigned to the Fifth Directorate, paradoxically, he has tried to present a more "humane" image of its methods by claiming that rather than relying solely on overt repression, he reportedly favored indirect or non-violent approaches to countering dissent. One such instance occurred during the 1975 demonstration in Leningrad, when a group of writers and artists gathered near the Bronze Horseman statue of Peter the Great to commemorate the failed Decembrist Uprising. In response, Putin helped organize a counter-demonstration on behalf of the KGB, featuring a brass marching band and a ceremonial laying of wreaths. Although most of the participants were let off with warnings, two poets regarded as the organizers, were sentenced to labor-camps.

Putin’s performance during this period appears to have been satisfactory, as he was promoted to the rank of senior lieutenant in 1977. Around the same time, he was granted a new apartment in a block of flats in the Avtovo district. This allowed him and his parents to move out of their long-time communal apartment on Baskov Lane, marking a significant personal upgrade in living conditions. In anticipation of gaining full membership in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union—a prerequisite for career advancement in the KGB—Putin joined the KGB’s Komsomol Committee, where he was responsible for matters related to sports and personnel. His work in this role was reportedly competent enough to earn him Party membership by the winter of 1977, an important step that opened further career opportunities within the organization. In the latter half of 1978, Putin left Leningrad to attend the KGB's Felix Dzerzhinsky Higher School in Moscow, pending a final decision on his next assignment. Although Putin has claimed in interviews that he spent a full year at the school, other sources suggest he was enrolled for only five to six months. The curriculum he followed appears to have focused primarily on foreign intelligence training, including interaction with foreigners and recruitment methods—subjects more advanced and specialized than those offered at the introductory Okhta training facility.

First Department of the Leningrad KGB (1979 to 1985)

Work in the First Department

Putin returned to Leningrad in the first half of 1979 and, by the fall of that year, joined the First Department of the Leningrad KGB, where he would spend the majority of the next five years. Despite its name, the First Department was not directly subordinate to the First Chief Directorate (FCD) headquartered in Yasenevo, Moscow, but rather to the regional KGB Directorate in Leningrad. The department itself was relatively small, comprising only a few dozen officers. Many of its personnel were former FCD operatives who had been demoted for various infractions and assigned to Leningrad in hopes of rehabilitating their careers and eventually returning to Yasenevo. This dynamic would later become significant, as Putin frequently claimed in interviews that he served as a "foreign intelligence operative" during this period. However, among actual FCD veterans, such claims were often seen as exaggerated—particularly when made by officers who had never been formally posted abroad or operated under the authority of the FCD headquarters.

The First Department of the Leningrad KGB was tasked with monitoring foreign nationals and consular officials in the city, primarily for potential recruitment as intelligence assets. However, due to Leningrad’s relatively limited diplomatic presence—consisting mainly of small consulates and transient tourists of minimal intelligence value—the department’s strategic importance was limited. At the time, Oleg Kalugin, a former KGB general and then-deputy head of the Leningrad First Department, later dismissed the department’s significance, describing its role as largely marginal. Structurally, the KGB’s Second Department was officially responsible for counterintelligence operations against foreigners and only referred individuals to the First Department if they were assessed to be of potential recruitment value. In practice, this system rendered the First Department subordinate and reactive, often leaving it with cases the Second Department had already deemed unpromising. According to most sources—and tacitly acknowledged by Putin himself—there is no known record of the Leningrad Directorate successfully recruiting a foreign agent or uncovering a Western spy during this period.

Training for the First Chief Directorate

In July 1983, while returning from his honeymoon in Yalta following his marriage to Lyudmila Shkrebneva (now Putina), Putin made a brief stop in Moscow to attend an interview at the headquarters of the FCD in Yasenevo. The meeting was arranged by his superior in Leningrad, General Felix Karasev, who sought to secure Putin a place at the FCD’s prestigious Red Banner Institute in Nagorny, Moscow. At the time, Putin was approaching the age of 30—the upper age limit for admission to the institute—making the application particularly time-sensitive. Putin was accepted in March 1984 and enrolled in a one-year training course at the institute’s satellite campus in Yurlovo, where he operated under the assigned alias "Vladimir Platov". The class consisted of approximately 60 men, divided into three groups based on their language specialization. Putin was appointed head of the German-language section. As part of the program, he spent one month undergoing paratrooper training in Odessa, Ukraine, followed by intensive instruction in the language, culture, and political systems of West Germany, East Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. This training was designed to prepare operatives for assignments in German-speaking countries, with a focus on both overt and covert intelligence-gathering techniques.

In June 1984, Putin received his final evaluation from the instructors at the Red Banner Institute. Each trainee was assessed across four categories: psychological profile, strengths, weaknesses, and skills and shortcomings—culminating in a recommendation regarding their future placement within the KGB. Putin’s report, compiled by Colonel Mikhail Frolov, offered a mixed appraisal. He was described as "somewhat withdrawn and uncommunicative," with "a certain academic tendency." The evaluation also noted an incident during a visit to Leningrad, where Putin was involved in a fight in the metro that resulted in a broken arm. Frolov concluded that Putin "had a lowered sense of danger"—a trait viewed as concerning in intelligence work. Although the report was not entirely negative, it posed challenges for his career prospects. By July, none of the FCD departments had expressed interest in assigning him, leaving Putin, in the slang used among trainees, an "orphan"—a term for those without a designated department upon graduation.

Selection for East Germany

Putin has provided conflicting and contradictory accounts of what occurred following his graduation from the Red Banner Institute and the circumstances in which he was assigned to East Germany. In some interviews, he has claimed that he was offered a position in West Germany, but that any graduate wishing to be posted there was first required to serve a year at the Fourth Department (the German Department) of the FCD in Moscow. According to Putin, he declined this intermediary step, expressing a desire for immediate deployment, and was therefore sent to East Germany instead. However, multiple KGB veterans have disputed this, asserting that there was no such policy requiring prior service in the Fourth Department before a Western assignment, and more importantly, that assignments were not subject to personal preference. Instead, the FCD itself made all such decisions. Historian Philip Short has also expressed skepticism about Putin’s account, noting that it is highly unlikely that Putin would have willingly chosen a posting in Communist East Germany over one in the West, regardless of any supposed procedural hurdles. In a separate interview, Putin claimed that he was sent back to Leningrad to prepare for his posting in East Germany. Both Short and Gessen regard this statement as technically accurate but misleading. Putin was likely sent to Leningrad not as part of any special preparation, but because he had not been selected for a prestigious Western assignment. Instead, he awaited secondment to an Eastern Bloc country when a position became available—a common fate for graduates of the FCD’s training programs who were not assigned to high-priority Western posts.

In late 1984, Putin was selected for a potential assignment at the KGB headquarters in Karlshorst, East Berlin. Colonel Kulkov, one of Putin’s former instructors at the Red Banner Institute, had recently been promoted to head the East German operations of Directorate S—the division responsible for "illegals" and sleeper agents. Hoping to bring several of his top students with him, Kulkov proposed including Putin in the transfer. Initially, Karlshorst approved the plan. However, the Personnel Department of the FCD at Yasenevo blocked the move. Accepting the transfer would have required that Putin be formally reassigned under Yasenevo's direct supervision, making the FCD responsible for his future career development upon his return to the USSR. Short speculates that this rejection suggests that the leadership at Yasenevo remained unimpressed with Putin’s performance and preferred to keep him under the authority of the Leningrad KGB Directorate rather than integrate him into the central FCD structure. Fortunately for Putin, a fellow trainee at Yurlovo informed him of an upcoming vacancy in Dresden, where another officer from the Leningrad Directorate, Boris Mylnikov—whom Putin had previously worked with—was nearing the end of his tour. Mylnikov was serving under Directorate S and upon learning of the opening, both Mylnikov and Colonel Kulkov recommended Putin as a replacement to Lazar Matveev, the head of the KGB office in Dresden. Matveev approved the recommendation, and in September 1985, Putin was officially accepted as Mylnikov’s successor.

First Chief Directorate in the Dresden KGB (1985 to 1990)

Dresden Residency

Upon his arrival in Dresden, Putin was assigned to Line N of Directorate S at the KGB Liaison Office, located at No. 4 Angelikastrasse—a three-story villa surrounded by an eight-foot-high wall, a guard post, and a well-maintained garden. Nearby stood the villa of the local Soviet military commander, a residence that had once belonged to Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus. Just one hundred yards away was the headquarters of the Dresden district headquarters of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi), housed in a complex of administrative buildings along the banks of the Elbe River. A short distance from the liaison office were apartment blocks on Radeberger Strasse 101, reserved for personnel from the Stasi, the KGB, and the GRU. Putin was given Mylnikov’s former three-room apartment. At Angelikastrasse, he shared an office with his partner, Vladimir Agartanov, a fellow Directorate S officer and former colleague from Leningrad, with whom he formed a close personal and professional relationship (who later published a book detailing his time with Putin under the pseudonym Vladimir Usoltsev, although documents from the Stasi revealed his name as Agartanov). Agartanov, who held a Ph.D. in nuclear physics, had originally been selected for assignment to the KGB residency in Vienna to monitor the IAEA. However, after being overheard mocking the aging leadership of the Politburo while at the Red Banner Institute, he was reassigned to Dresden as punishment.

The Dresden KGB residency was led by Lazar Matveev, with Colonel Kalinin serving as his deputy. Kalinin was widely disliked by the staff for his rigid Stalinist views and generally unpleasant demeanor. Other notable officers at the residency included Nikolai Tokarev of Directorate T (responsible for science and technology espionage), Sergei Chemezov of Directorate K (focused on counter-intelligence), and Evgeny Shkolov (who has publicly denied being in the KGB, although Shkolov's Stasi identification and a birthday list labeling him as KGB member has been found in the German Federal Archives). With the exception of Kalinin, these individuals would go on to become close associates and lifelong friends of Putin. In addition to KGB staff, the office included local support personnel provided by the Stasi: a secretary of Baltic German ancestry—later revealed to be a covert agent of the BND with the codename "LENCHEN," and nicknamed "Balcony" by the staff due to her large breasts—a German driver named Werner, and a detachment of Soviet border guards responsible for providing physical security at the site.

The KGB residency in Dresden—the third-largest city in East Germany—was presented by Karlshorst as a strategically vital outpost. With thousands of visitors from the West, including tourists, businessmen, and West German relatives, the residency was portrayed as being "on the frontline between Eastern Europe and the West," and of primary importance to the security of the Soviet Union. Officially, Putin and his colleagues in Dresden were responsible for liaison with the Stasi district administration to achieve this directive. However, as officers of the First Main Directorate, their task was also to recruit Western agents for the KGB. For Putin, the reality was far less prestigious. Many KGB veterans, including Agartanov himself, later dismissed the posting as a bureaucratic "backwater" with little genuine intelligence value. The office was considered overstaffed, poorly equipped, and largely ineffective. Putin was required to report to three separate superiors: Matveev, as the head of the Dresden residency; Colonel Kulkov as the head of Directorate S at Karlshorst; and Colonel Yuri Leshchev, his former superior in Leningrad who now oversaw all 14 KGB district offices in the GDR. This overlapping command structure added layers of inefficiency and confusion to the residency’s operations. Compounding the challenges was the residency’s lack of basic operational equipment. There were no encrypted communication systems, computers, or even printers. Putin’s office relied on a single secure telephone line connected only to Karlshorst, a manual typewriter, and a shared Zhiguli car between himself and Agartanov. Reports were written up and sewn by hand between hard covers with a needle and thread to be sent via courier to East Berlin. The resources reflected the broader insignificance of the posting in the eyes of Karlshorst.

Work in Directorate S

Historian Hubert Knabe uncovered approximately 500 documents from the Dresden offices of the Stasi and KGB in the local branch of the German Federal Archives, detailing Putin’s activities and shedding some light on his administrative and intelligence duties. Archival documents suggest that much of his work involved routine administrative and liaison tasks. Putin and Agartanov were officially tasked with handling "illegals"—deep-cover Soviet agents operating in the West—by supporting their operations and recruiting new candidates. In practice, Agartanov and Knabe describe most of their work as mundane and irrelevant, much of it dealing with the conflicts and infighting between the KGB and the Stasi while in pursuit of collecting so-called "intelligence", often of open-source nature from their network of informants, but in many cases, West German publications such as Der Spiegel and Bild. As this was likely repeated across the KGB's 14 district offices in East Germany, they simply "added to the mountains of useless information produced by the KGB."

A key structural problem was that their mission—supporting illegals and gathering high-value intelligence—was ill-suited to a location like Dresden. The city lacked a viable pool of individuals who could be recruited as illegals, and its geographical and strategic position offered limited access to valuable Western targets. Furthermore, Putin's authority in matters of agent recruitment was also limited. According to a 1978 agreement between the KGB and the Stasi, Soviet intelligence could only recruit East German citizens for "reconnaissance and counterintelligence tasks in capitalist states and West Berlin," or for protecting Soviet military facilities. Before any approach could be made, the Stasi was required to vet the candidate, not only effectively granting it veto power over KGB recruitment efforts, but also giving an opportunity for the Stasi to take the candidate for themselves. The Stasi enforced these restrictions rigorously. In March 1989, for example, the Dresden Stasi filed a formal complaint after learning that Putin had initiated unauthorized contact with a group of reservists. The KGB immediately ceased the interaction following the objection. In another instance, when the KGB (presumably from Agartanov and Putin) requested "compromising material" on a woman residing in Dresden, Böhm firmly rebuffed the request, stating: "We are responsible for GDR citizens!" Such incidents reveal the tight controls imposed by the Stasi over domestic operations and their resistance to Soviet overreach. One file records Putin intervening when a KGB agent from Leningrad attempted to contact the Dresden KGB during a visit without prior authorization from the Stasi—a procedural violation that prompted Putin’s involvement after. In another case, Putin requested "effective support" from the Dresden Stasi chief after a KGB agent’s telephone line had been "mistakenly" disconnected. The Stasi promptly restored the connection. There were occasions when the Stasi sometimes requested assistance from the KGB. Putin was asked to provide "information on the personnel working" near the SED district leadership’s guest house. The file was annotated in Russian, assigning the request to “Comrade V.W. Putin for execution.” Nonetheless, the response below reads: "Returned without execution," indicating that Putin either declined the request or could not fulfill it.

Much of the time, Putin and Agartanov focused on reviewing profiles of potential illegals provided by the Stasi or the Criminal Investigation Department of the Volkspolizei to identify suitable candidates who could be referred to the FCD for a preliminary trace and assessment. If the FCD approved a candidate, the individual will be cultivated over a year or more. This process could involve direct recruitment attempts, during which Putin might reveal his affiliation with the KGB or, in other cases, operate under a false flag—posing as a representative of another organization or entity. Even after lengthy cultivation, only a small number of prospects would ultimately be accepted as full-fledged illegals by the FCD. Despite their efforts, Putin could not secure any valuable recruitments during his time in Dresden. Often, the KGB residency did not have enough money to entice the most valuable recruits to work for them. According to Matveev, Putin frequently targeted students at the Technical University of Dresden, believing that international students might be more open to recruitment. Putin later described his most notable "success" as the recruitment of a Colombian student, who introduced him to a Colombian-born U.S. Army sergeant stationed in West Berlin who sold Putin an unclassified army training manual.

Knabe also uncovered a surviving KGB security document from the Dresden residency that contains a partial list of agents, including personnel from the military counterintelligence department. Originally a 90-page dossier, only two double-sided sheets were discovered in 1995, and the names of 83 individuals, including 37 originating from West Germany, were listed. A closer examination of the surviving documents offers glimpses into the nature of Putin’s operational work in Dresden. For instance, the agent whose telephone line had been disconnected was affiliated with "Working Area I" of the Criminal Investigation Department (K1). This unit, which functioned as a semi-autonomous auxiliary force to the Stasi, reportedly had a network of approximately 15,000 informants. The KGB had registered this individual as a Führungs-IM (FIM), or “leading unofficial collaborator,” indicating that he also managed other informants. According to records, he once urged a contact to apply for travel to the West to facilitate an encounter with a Bundeswehr officer “in the interest of his friends”—a euphemism for Soviet intelligence. Though his operational performance was satisfactory, he was not considered a high-level asset. Due to personal vulnerabilities—including frequent visits to restaurants, accumulating debts, and associations with criminal elements—he was eventually forced into early retirement by the criminal police for “security reasons.” Another operative tied to the Dresden KGB was a K1 police officer codenamed Henry, who had been working with the KGB since 1975 and was listed as an FIM. His informant network included a lecturer in political economy at the Technical University, who had been active under the alias IM "Bock" since 1985. Through this academic contact, the KGB managed to recruit a West German woman from Besigheim, near Stuttgart, codenamed IM "Ulla." She reportedly agreed to cooperate voluntarily by signing a written declaration of intent. While the Stasi imposed strict controls over KGB recruitment of GDR citizens—requiring prior vetting and often limiting collaboration to specific tasks—Putin and his colleagues were not subject to such restrictions when recruiting Western nationals.

The Dresden residency participated in Operation RYaN, a major Soviet intelligence initiative launched in the early 1980s to detect signs of a potential nuclear first strike by NATO. As part of the program, officers were instructed to monitor for specific indicators, including Western government offices remaining open late, increased blood bank activity, and the stockpiling of meat in cold storage—signals believed to suggest civil defense preparations for an impending conflict. While such surveillance might have had some utility in cities like Bonn, Zurich, or Vienna, its value in Dresden was minimal. Putin and Agartanov were ordered to investigate potential vulnerabilities at three U.S. Army bases in West Germany where the 10th Special Forces Group was stationed: Bad Tölz in Bavaria, Wildflecken, and Stelle. Soviet intelligence believed that any increase in readiness among U.S. Special Forces would serve as one of the earliest indicators of a potential NATO first strike. However, all three bases were hundreds of miles from Dresden, and the residency lacked the means and infrastructure to obtain helpful intelligence from such distant targets. Gessen noted that the operation "was hardly more effective in Dresden than it would have been from Leningrad." In an attempt to find local assets, Putin and Agartanov spent months combing through files provided by the Stasi, looking for East Germans who had invited relatives from the West who might live near the bases. Very few matched the criteria, and those who did showed no potential for successful recruitment. Putin concluded that the assignment was futile and reportedly recommended abandoning the effort altogether, recognizing it as a waste of time and resources.

Knabe has also drawn attention to the cold and often strained tone that permeates the surviving correspondence between the Stasi and the KGB. While operational cooperation existed, the documents reveal frequent tensions and occasional reprimands from the Stasi regarding what they viewed as clumsy or unprofessional Soviet practices. The only notable break in this formality occurred once a year, when the Dresden Stasi chief sent Putin a birthday card and flowers, expressing greetings "in close solidarity." Outside such gestures, relations were often marked by bureaucratic friction and mutual dissatisfaction. One illustrative case involves a June 1987 incident documented as the "deconspiracy of a technical measure by the Soviet Chekists." During a visit by the KGB informant IM "Ulla" to Dresden, her son accidentally discovered and pocketed a concealed listening device hidden under the sofa of IM "Bock." Alarmed, the Stasi issued a warrant for "Ulla" at all border crossings to recover the device. The situation was eventually resolved when IM "Bock" retrieved the transmitter, but the Stasi expressed visible frustration over the incident. Subsequent investigations revealed that the device had been planted without authorization by Agartanov and Putin. Their superiors were forced to concede that "the discovery was due to the unqualified work of his colleague." In addition to these technical mishaps, the primary source of tension between the two services stemmed from the behavior of Soviet military personnel stationed in Dresden. The archives contain numerous complaints from the Stasi to the Dresden KGB regarding criminal misconduct by Soviet soldiers, including burglaries, sexual harassment, bar fights, hit-and-run incidents, the unauthorized sale or loss of weapons, and even grenade detonations in civilian areas. Beyond the incidents themselves, East German officials were equally critical of how the Soviet military command handled these matters. One notable exchange details how the commandant in Königsbrück dismissed evidence of burglary by stating that the involved Soviet license plates were "unregistered," and brushed off an accusation of harassment against a German as a "fabrication." Attempts by the Volkspolizei to engage with the commandant were met with “communication difficulties” or excuses that he was “on a lunch break.” In one particularly egregious case, when the wife of a Stasi employee was sexually harassed, the Stasi requested the KGB's help in identifying the perpetrator. The internal report concludes with a stark assessment of the outcome: “Result: nothing happened.”

Allegations of Support for RAF Terrorism

One area of controversy involves allegations that Putin supported or facilitated contacts with left-wing terrorist groups such as the Red Army Faction. Journalist Catherine Belton alleges that members of the RAF traveled multiple times by train to Dresden, where they met with Putin, provided lists of weapons, and received logistical support. Belton further claims that the assassination of Alfred Herrhausen, the CEO of Deutsche Bank in 1989, was “prepared from Dresden.” However, Knabe categorically rejects these assertions. He states that no such cooperation is documented in the archival materials and that any collaboration between Soviet intelligence and the RAF—particularly involving arms transfers or high-level assassinations—would not have gone unnoticed by the Stasi, which maintained both close ties to the RAF and one of the most comprehensive internal surveillance systems in the Eastern Bloc. Knabe further questions the plausibility of entrusting such politically sensitive operations to a relatively junior and inexperienced officer from Leningrad stationed in Dresden. Additionally, Knabe identifies factual inconsistencies in Belton’s account. For instance, the claim that RAF members were picked up by the Stasi in Soviet-made ZIL limousines is described as implausible since those vehicles—six meters in length—were reserved exclusively for the uppermost echelons of Soviet leadership. Using such conspicuous state vehicles for clandestine operations would have been improbable and counterproductive from a security standpoint.

According to Belton, Putin played a significant role in technological espionage as the city was home to Robotron, making it a regional hub for black market activity related to Western computer and semiconductor technology. Belton asserts that this environment placed Putin in a strategic position to facilitate illicit technology transfers to the Soviet Union. However, documents from the Stasi suggest a more limited role for the Dresden residency in such operations (which Knabe also points out, is another factual inaccuracy as such espionage was delegated to Tokarev of Department T, not Putin). The Stasi reportedly handled the bulk of illegal technology procurement in East Berlin, which maintained direct channels for transferring acquired Western technologies to Moscow. While local residencies such as Dresden may have contributed peripherally, they were not at the center of the espionage pipeline. Curiously, Knabe uncovered a particularly telling document—an edited speech draft prepared by Dresden Stasi chief Böhm for a "Brotherhood in Arms Ball." In the draft, Böhm initially described their intelligence operatives as "high-performing spies" but later crossed out the adjective "high," apparently deeming the claim an overstatement. In the final version, Böhm merely reported to his Soviet colleagues that their spies had "played a part" in developing a 32-bit computer and a 256-kilobit memory circuit.

Life in Dresden

In 1987, Putin was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, a milestone granted primarily on the basis of length of service rather than notable performance. His official grade—a separate measure reflecting merit and responsibility—did, however, reflect career advancement. Upon his arrival in Dresden as a senior case officer, he was promoted first to Assistant Head of Department and later to Senior Assistant. Such rapid promotion was considered unusual, especially given Putin’s modest track record and the lack of major operational achievements during his time at the residency. Several sources suggest that his advancement may have been facilitated by Colonel Matveev, whom Putin frequently deputized for and occasionally took over as head of the residency in his absence. Although Matveev was regarded as a fair and well-liked leader who avoided overt favoritism, he appeared to hold Putin in particularly high regard—an assessment that baffled many of Putin's colleagues, who were unable to identify any exceptional qualities that justified such favor. It is believed that Putin may have ingratiated himself with Matveev, who reportedly had high-level connections both within the KGB Party Committee at the Lubyanka headquarters in Moscow and with Hans Modrow, the SED chairman in Dresden. In February 1988, Putin was even honored by Stasi Minister Erich Mielke, who awarded him the Bronze Medal of Merit of the NVA (an audio recording of Mielke congratulating Putin for this was found by Knabe in the Stasi archvies). Matveev also supported Putin’s appointment as Secretary of the Dresden residency’s Party cell—a symbolic role that carried few formal responsibilities. The position typically involved organizing ideological "study sessions" on topics assigned by the Central Committee, swearing-in of new recruits by the Stasi, as well as hosting ceremonial events such as "brotherhood and friendship balls" with the Stasi, the SED, or the FDJ. Although largely ceremonial, the post boosted Putin’s political profile and enabled him to become a member of the KGB Party Committee for East Germany, providing him with useful contacts among higher-ranking officers and furthering his career prospects within the organization.

During his time in Dresden, Putin was reportedly experiencing a period of mixed emotions. On one hand, he appeared genuinely appreciative of the work ethic and quality of life in East Germany, which he viewed as significantly more stable and prosperous compared to the Soviet Union. Lyudmila particularly enjoyed the relative abundance of consumer goods, which contrasted sharply with the shortages and long queues common in Leningrad. On the other hand, Putin grew increasingly disillusioned with the lack of meaningful intelligence work. Despite holding a mid-level position, his assignments were often bureaucratic or of little strategic importance. His long-held dream of working in the West—a career aspiration since his youth—remained unfulfilled, contributing to a sense of personal and professional frustration. According to some accounts, he became withdrawn and showed signs of depression, gradually abandoning his previous enthusiasm for sports. He also developed a habit of drinking beer regularly—reportedly favoring products from the local Radeberger Brewery—and gained approximately 25 pounds during this period. The atmosphere at the Dresden residency became further strained following a scandal involving “Lenchen,” the secretary of Matveev and an agent for the BND, who became pregnant by Colonel Kalinin. Kalinin was quietly recalled to Moscow in disgrace, while Lenchen was exfiltrated by the BND, provided with an abortion, and later resettled as an innkeeper in West Germany. In post-defection debriefings, Lenchen reportedly disclosed that she had formed a friendship with Lyudmila, who confided that Putin was abusive—claiming he often beat her and was unfaithful with other women. During this period, Putin also reportedly had a brief affair with Doris Beissig, the 26-year-old daughter of Fritz Beissig, the Stasi chief in Großenhain. The relationship ended abruptly when Putin realized that such a liaison would be deemed unacceptable by both the KGB and the Stasi, potentially endangering his position.

Collapse of East Germany

By 1988, the effects of Perestroika and Glasnost—the reform policies initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev—were increasingly felt within the operations of the KGB residency in Dresden. With the exception of Matveev, most of the officers at the residency, including Putin, were generally supportive of these changes. This attitude placed them at odds with their East German counterparts, whose leadership, particularly within the Stasi, expressed deep alarm at the rapid political liberalization taking place in the Soviet Union. Previously, the KGB officers had enjoyed relatively unrestricted access to the local Stasi headquarters, courtesy of passes issued by their East German counterparts. However, this arrangement was curtailed by Horst Böhm, the hardline Stalinist general in charge of the Dresden district office of the Stasi. Böhm, increasingly distrustful of the Soviet officers’ reformist sympathies and reports critical of the East German regime, issued a directive requiring that all contact with KGB personnel—outside of formal events such as "Soviet-German Friendship" celebrations—be coordinated through a designated Stasi liaison officer. This new policy significantly hindered the Dresden residency’s effectiveness, forcing Matveev, Putin, and their colleagues either to navigate a cumbersome and opaque bureaucratic channel or to conduct meetings with the Stasi in secret. The restriction also caused friction between the two intelligence services at a time of growing instability in the Eastern Bloc. Sergei Chemezov, who was part of a KGB initiative known as "Luch" (meaning "light"), was particularly affected by the breakdown in cooperation. The Luch program was tasked with gauging public opinion in East Germany to assess the extent of Western influence and societal penetration. Chemezov’s reports, which candidly described the erosion of popular support for the East German regime, were viewed as subversive by the Stasi and were believed to be one of the contributing factors behind Böhm’s decision to impose the contact restrictions.

For Putin, the first signs of serious unrest emerged on 5 October 1989, when over 10,000 people gathered at the main train stations in Dresden to board westbound trains transiting through Hungary, which had begun dismantling its border restrictions with neighboring Austria. The mass exodus sparked violent clashes between protesters and East German security forces. Units of the military, police, and Stasi attempted to suppress the demonstrations, leading to chaotic street battles involving batons, fire hoses, and protesters hurling cobblestones and other projectiles. Putin recognized that the East German leadership was rapidly losing control, though even then, he reportedly struggled to comprehend the speed at which events were unfolding. In the ensuing weeks, as communist regimes in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Poland began to collapse, Putin and his colleagues at the KGB residency in Dresden were ordered to remain at their posts and not intervene in local affairs.

Hans Modrow, the former Dresden party chief who had recently become Prime Minister under Egon Krenz, sought to preserve elements of the collapsing regime by rebranding the Ministry for State Security as the Office for the Protection of the Constitution—adopting the name of its West German counterpart. The rebranding, however, backfired spectacularly as it was seen by the public as a thinly veiled attempt to shield the Stasi from accountability. Public outrage intensified and on 4 December 1989, the first major Stasi headquarters to be stormed was in Erfurt, Thuringia. The following day, a large crowd of demonstrators gathered outside the Stasi headquarters in Dresden. As several thousand protesters broke through the gates, General Böhm made the decision not to resist. Putin, who was in the crowd along with a few of his KGB colleagues, watched the events unfold without intervening. Protesters overran the building, ransacking offices and seizing documents. Putin reportedly viewed the demonstrators' rage as excessive and confusing. He was skeptical of many of the slogans and claims shouted by the crowd—such as rumors of detention cells beneath the Elbe River where detainees were tortured—which he dismissed as complete fantasies. To Putin, the Stasi officers were colleagues, neighbors, and fellow bureaucrats—ordinary paper-pushers not unlike himself. He found it difficult to reconcile the image of them as brutal oppressors with the individuals he had worked alongside during his time in Dresden.

During the demonstrations, a small group of protesters reportedly broke away from the crowd at the Stasi headquarters and approached the KGB residency on Angelikastrasse. Accounts of what happened next differ significantly. According to the demonstrators, their group numbered only 20 to 30 people and had no intention of entering the property. Putin, however, later claimed that the protesters appeared to be in an “aggressive mood” and were preparing to storm the building. In response, Putin ordered the Soviet guards to take up firing positions and instructed the residency staff to begin destroying sensitive documents in the furnace—an effort that reportedly caused the furnace to overheat and crack. Putin then stepped outside to confront the demonstrators. When asked who he was, Putin told the protesters that he was a translator working for a "Soviet military organization." When one of them questioned why the building's vehicles had East German license plates, Putin explained that such arrangements were part of a bilateral agreement and warned the group not to trespass. He insisted that the office was not affiliated with the Stasi or East German military but was an exclusively Soviet military facility, enjoying extraterritorial status. After returning inside, Putin contacted the local headquarters of the Soviet Army to request reinforcements. He was told: "We cannot do anything without orders from Moscow. And Moscow is silent." Eventually, after several tense hours, an armored personnel carrier arrived, carrying a detachment of Soviet soldiers armed with AK-47s, who were posted to protect the building. Putin has described the incident as a pivotal moment in his career—comparable to Yuri Andropov’s so-called “Hungarian Complex” following the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, when Soviet intelligence was caught off guard by mass political upheaval. However, later accounts from his colleagues cast doubt on the gravity of the episode. Both Agartanov and Putin’s superior at Karlshorst, Sergei Bezrukov, recalled the confrontation as a relatively minor event, with no lasting significance.

Following the events of December 1989, Putin and the remaining KGB officers at the Dresden residency spent the next two to three months overseeing the destruction of all classified documents and operational archives. The materials, which included extensive records on intelligence assets and cooperation with the Stasi, were either incinerated on-site or transported by Soviet military personnel to nearby bases, where they were burned in large open pits. Due to the sheer volume of the archives, full destruction required weeks of continuous effort. The most sensitive documents, including select Stasi files, were removed and transported to Karlshorst and ultimately flown to Moscow. Once the purge was complete, Putin was ordered to begin the process of building a new network of intelligence sources, this time independent of East German collaborators. Among those he attempted to recruit was Klaus Zuchold, a young Stasi officer who had become close to Putin in 1985 and had assisted him in improving his German language skills. The effort ultimately proved disastrous: following German reunification, Zuchold defected to the BND and disclosed all information he had regarding his relationship with Putin and KGB activities in Dresden. In January 1990, Putin was summoned to Berlin for a meeting with a general from Directorate Z, the successor to the Fifth Directorate, which was responsible for internal political security. The content of the meeting remains unknown—even to some of Putin’s direct superiors—but reportedly concerned his next assignment. Shortly after returning to Dresden, Putin packed up his belongings and, along with his family, departed for Leningrad on February 3rd, 1990.

Directorate Z in the Leningrad KGB (1990-1991)

Rise of Anatoly Sobchak

The exact details of Putin's career following his return to Leningrad in early 1990 remain unclear, and over the years, Putin himself has provided conflicting and often contradictory accounts. Nonetheless, a general consensus among researchers and former officials suggests that his trajectory was shaped significantly by the political upheavals of the late Soviet Union. In May 1989, the televised proceedings of the first Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union introduced unprecedented political transparency, exposing the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the KGB, and the Soviet Army to open criticism for the first time. The reformist debates led by figures such as Andrei Sakharov, Boris Yeltsin, and others marked a profound shift in Soviet political culture. One of the key outcomes of this new climate was the transformation of the KGB’s Fifth Directorate—formerly responsible for monitoring political dissent—into Directorate Z, tasked with the so-called “protection of the constitution.” Its longtime chief, Filipp Bobkov, grew increasingly alarmed at the erosion of state authority and the growing influence of liberal reformers, many of whom he viewed as a threat to the Soviet establishment. Bobkov responded by redirecting the resources of Directorate Z away from traditional dissidents and toward members of the emerging liberal opposition. One such figure was Anatoly Sobchak, a prominent law professor at Leningrad State University, whom Putin had been a student under in the 1970s, and a rising star in the reform movement. Sobchak came to national attention after launching a parliamentary investigation into the violent suppression of the April 1989 Tbilisi Protests, during which he publicly challenged Politburo member Yegor Ligachyov and KGB Chairman Viktor Chebrikov on live television—a rare and highly symbolic act of defiance. Sobchak’s growing political prominence and his ties to reformist circles made him a person of interest to the KGB. Concerned about his influence and possible threat to the conservative old guard, Bobkov reportedly ordered that someone be placed close to Sobchak to monitor and potentially influence him.

Putin's Recruitment

While the official details of Putin’s transition into politics have been extensively documented, the behind-the-scenes maneuvers leading up to his appointment remain speculative and have been pieced together primarily from sources close to him. According to several accounts, the decision to position Putin near Sobchak was influenced by Nikolai Yegorov, a former classmate of Putin's and, by the late 1980s, the head of the Civil Law Department at Leningrad State University. Yegorov was known to maintain close ties with the Leningrad branch of the KGB, and was reportedly approached by officials from Directorate Z—formerly the Fifth Directorate—at the request of its chief, Filipp Bobkov. Bobkov asked Yegorov to compile a list of former students of Sobchak who could potentially be embedded within his growing political entourage. Yegorov recommended both Putin and Aleksandr Bastrykin (who would later become head of the Investigative Committee of Russia). Ultimately, the KGB selected Putin—possibly on the advice of Matveyev, who had reportedly been impressed by his legal education and prior experience with the KGB Party Committee, which carried significant political weight within the organization. Putin was given the option of working with Sobchak either in Moscow or Leningrad. He likely chose Leningrad for practical reasons, as he already owned a residence there, whereas obtaining housing in Moscow would have taken years. This decision, however, formally transferred him back to the Leningrad KGB Directorate as "active reserve" (for individuals working undercover in another state organization) and effectively closed any future prospects of joining the FCD at Yasenevo, ending his ambitions for a foreign intelligence career. Shortly afterward, Putin was assigned as assistant to the Vice Rector for International Affairs at Leningrad State University—a classic KGB academic posting that involved monitoring students with international connections, particularly foreigners and those studying abroad. The position also gave Putin a direct channel to re-establish ties with Sobchak and closely observe the growing liberal political movement from within.

References

Footnotes

Books

• Putin, Vladimir (2000). 'First Person: An astonishingly frank self-portrait by Russia's President'. Public Affairs New York. ISBN 1586480189.
• Short, Philip (2022). 'Putin'. Henry Holt & Company New York. ISBN 9781627793674.
• Gessen, Masha (2012). 'The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin'. Riverhead Books New York. ISBN 9781594488429.
• Knabe, Hubertus (2022). "'Putin's apprenticeship in Dresden'".