Jack Barsky, ex-KGB agent (2025): Putin was not a good KGB agent. His former boss described him as average.
Putin spoke fluent German, yet KGB sent him to East Germany as a liaison and perhaps a courier, not to Austria, Switzerland or even Berlin, where the real action was. 1/
Barsky: Putin was clever, a great manipulator, a strong organizer and an excellent networker.
When the KGB collapsed, he had a network of people who had worked in the West and understood how capitalism worked. Many of them later became oligarchs. 2/
Barsky: Putin worked for the mayor of St Petersburg and did a good job as an organizer. The mayor introduced him to Yeltsin.
Putin remained low-key and non-aggressive. Yeltsin chose him as his successor because he believed Putin would not investigate him or put him in prison. 3/
Barsky: Once Putin gained power, he showed what he was about.
Oligarchs who refused to cooperate with him went to prison or had to flee Russia. He surrounded himself with subordinates and set them against one another. 4/
Barsky: Putin makes sure the people around him cannot trust one another.
If several people conspire and one betrays the others, the rest are dead. I do not expect a conspiracy to remove him. It would probably take a lone assassin, who would be killed as soon as he pulled the trigger. 5X
Jack Barsky, ex-KGB agent (2025): Putin was not a good KGB agent. His former boss described him as average.
Putin spoke fluent German, yet KGB sent him to East Germany as a liaison and perhaps a courier, not to Austria, Switzerland or even Berlin, where the real action was. 1/Barsky: Putin was clever, a great manipulator, a strong organizer and an excellent networker.
When the KGB collapsed, he had a network of people who had worked in the West and understood how capitalism worked. Many of them later became oligarchs. 2/Barsky: Putin worked for the mayor of St Petersburg and did a good job as an organizer. The mayor introduced him to Yeltsin.
Putin remained low-key and non-aggressive. Yeltsin chose him as his successor because he believed Putin would not investigate him or put him in prison. 3/Barsky: Once Putin gained power, he showed what he was about.
Oligarchs who refused to cooperate with him went to prison or had to flee Russia. He surrounded himself with subordinates and set them against one another. 4/Barsky: Putin makes sure the people around him cannot trust one another.
If several people conspire and one betrays the others, the rest are dead. I do not expect a conspiracy to remove him. It would probably take a lone assassin, who would be killed as soon as he pulled the trigger. 5XSource:Thank you for reading this post!
Please also consider donating to support Ukrainian students who study during the war if this cause resonates with you.
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Jack Barsky, ex-KGB agent (2025): Putin was not a good KGB agent. His former boss described him as average.
Putin spoke fluent German, yet KGB sent him to East Germany as a liaison and perhaps a courier, not to Austria, Switzerland or even Berlin, where the real action was. 1/ ... Barsky: Putin was clever, a great manipulator, a strong organizer and an excellent networker.
When the KGB collapsed, he had a network of people who had worked in the West and understood how capitalism worked. Many of them later became oligarchs. 2/ ... Barsky: Putin worked for the mayor of St Petersburg and did a good job as an organizer. The mayor introduced him to Yeltsin.
Putin remained low-key and non-aggressive. Yeltsin chose him as his successor because he believed Putin would not investigate him or put him in prison. 3/ ... Barsky: Once Putin gained power, he showed what he was about.
Oligarchs who refused to cooperate with him went to prison or had to flee Russia. He surrounded himself with subordinates and set them against one another. 4/ ... Barsky: Putin makes sure the people around him cannot trust one another.
If several people conspire and one betrays the others, the rest are dead. I do not expect a conspiracy to remove him. It would probably take a lone assassin, who would be killed as soon as he pulled the trigger. 5X ... Source: ... Thank you for reading this post!
Please also consider donating to support Ukrainian students who study during the war if this cause resonates with you.
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