Intelligence career of Vladimir Putin

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Intelligence career of Vladimir Putin" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin in KGB uniform c. 1980
Allegiance	Soviet Union
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 the period from 1975 to 1991 with his involvement in 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, a biography by Putin's former partner Vladimir Agartanov (under the pseudonym Usoltsev), external researchers, such as Philip Short and Masha Gessen, along with archival materials from the former Stasi, have provided some insights into this period.