Vladimir Putin - KGB Agent

Vladimir Putin has an interesting and controversial past, having served for 15 years as a spy in the infamous KGB. But how much to do you actually know of his activities as a field agent during the Cold War?

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Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; World Economic Forum; The Presidential Press and Information Office; jgoray; A. Savin; Pete Souza; Wolkenkratzer; Almog; David Broad

[yankee]

It’s a nice change of pace to hear Mark talking about relatively modern topics, outstanding work as always

[oncall]

I learned more about Putin in the last eight and a half minutes than I have in my whole life. Thanks for sharing Dr Felton!

[Ronin]

Timely and very informative, Mark. I was an officer at a USAF air base in Germany during the early ‘80s. We had more than a few run ins with Baader Meinhof back then. They blew up our O’ Club, which was just outside the base gates. They also took a fellow officer’s BMW to kidnap a West German Bank President, who they held for ransom. We retrieved the BMW several days later in Trier and found the only damage was to the trunk lock. Oddly, the gas coupons purchased by US military members were left undisturbed in the vehicle’s front console.

[erture]

No wonder he is so powerful, not just be influence, but by sheer skills and mental power.

[TheVertigo]

A wise man once said... "There is no such thing as ex-KGB agent"

[JohnSmith-iljn]

Dr. Felton, you need to do a second part of this video regarding Vladimir Putin. The second part should cover the rise of Putin under Boris Yeltsin, this is actually the most interesting part of the story, and it appears he had plenty of help from his former KGB colleagues. Perhaps you could expand on how Putin's current worldview relates directly to his former KGB experiences and deep connections with that spy agency. You should also discuss in more detail the Cold War era U.S. and NATO responses to KGB activities in Germany because this is also highly relevant to how Putin reacts to the West.

[kevinho]

Putin’s grandfather was Stalins personal cook, now that’s a wow

[dixztube]

He’s pretty impressive individual which is concerning given how lightly the media takes him.

[dodes]

"There is no such thing as a former KGB man.“ — Vladimir Putin, 2004, responding to Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, who called himself a former KGB officer

[MaxRank]

With the complete lack of accurate history lessons here in the US, I have my kids watch various videos by Mark. As a complete history junkie myself I feel it is critically important the young minds of today understand where we have all come from. At best we are about to enter a new Cold War. Great stuff Mark thank you for sharing.

[allieversaid]

Mr. Felton your lessons empirically demonstrate how the threads of the past weave our modern tapestry. You elevate my understanding of history. With more like you I hope we can all really integrate the mistakes of the past and be more mindful as a whole. Thank you for your important work.

[Edwardi]

6:33 I love these pictures of "secret agent" Putin he's so famous now, its impossible to think their was a time that he could blend in.

[King_Nero_]

As per usual, outstanding research in a presentable and easy to understand format. Excellent work Mark!

[alexdemoya]

You can take a man out of the KGB. But not the KGB out of the man.

[markstouse]

Really excellent as always, Mark. A sidebar story: my mentor as a journalist 30+ years ago was the former head of the Associated Press during the Cold War. In the late 80s, before the fall of the Soviet bloc, he went back to East Germany to do some reporting. As had happened many times before, he was picked up by the Stasi and held for several weeks before being released to the US State Department. He has a photo of himself crossing the border, escorted by a KGB lieutenant colonel. Yep, you guessed it! It’s a much younger Vladimir Putin.

You might well ask why my friend merited the attentions of a relatively senior KGB officer. My friend had covered the Bloc for 30 years, and had achieved relationships with the reformers in the Politburo, beginning with Krushchev. That continued through Gorbachev, who removed my friend from Stasi supervision and ordered the KGB to repatriate him.

[longjidalu]

The best Mark Felton video that I have ever watched.

[yourcommander]

"Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, whoever wants it back has no brain” - Vladimir Putin.

[CannibaLouiST]

He's also a Black Sabbath fan. According to Tony Iommi's autobiography, Putin even gave Tony a medal after a private concert in Moscow.

[steverichmond]

One of Putin's covers was as a timber expert in East Germany. He ran agents who came to Hull using the cover as inspectors of faulty timber. One of these agents was turned by MI5. I believe he still lives in Hull. A lot of Russian sailors were scared of KGB who were embedded in crews delivering the timber.

[JohnDrakeMI]

Very interesting Mark as I was U.S. Secret Service (1974-1977 Wash.D.C.) and protected Russian Embassies and Ambassadors as well as Foreign Heads of State and U.S. Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter and White House Staff. Lot's going on but I also protected former KGB Col. Stanislav Lunev(1998) author of "Through The Eyes Of The Enemy" who is living in the USA with other Russian Nationals as we did since Operation Paperclip. So much history and we are being told too many lies by the press and the CIA. Great job !