Putin Says KGB Agent Past Helped Prepare Him To Lead
Source: Newsweek Magazine
BY LAUREN GILL ON 1/2/18 AT 9:51 AM
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his "previous work" as a Soviet spy for the notorious KGB prepared him for his role as head of state.
Putin, who worked for the secret Soviet security agency in East Germany and later in Moscow, told the interviewer that being a spy helped him to lead Russia and that he has not fundamentally altered his behavior, according to The Moscow Times.
"Yes, I’m in the limelight, but in my previous life I always tried to act as if I was constantly being watched," Putin added. "It's strange, but that's how it worked out, perhaps because of my previous work."
Putin served in the secret intelligence agency between 1975 and 1991, initially as an officer in East Germany, where his mission may have been to recruit East German Communist Party and Stasi officials, steal tech secrets, find compromising information about visiting Westerners, and travel undercover to West Germany.
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/putin-says-kgb-agent-past-helped-prepare-him-russian-presidency-767908
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