Please go read more than some dumb spy novel and think you’ve read the bible on Putin somehow.
I’m interested in what he says as a former insider quite apart from his statements on Putin. It’s a long interview. But you’ve made a factual allegation about Putin’s status within the Soviet power structure during the 1980s. Fine. Back it up with...well, facts. Barsky says he resigned after the fall of the Berlin Wall, which means that he was in Berlin when the wall fell and afterwards. If that’s false, show me the true facts and their source.
FYI, I’ve read Night of Wenceslas, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and also Without Remorse. That is the extent of my spy novel readings, years ago. None of them mention Putin, not that I care. Spy novels are not all that interesting, really. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Little Man What Now? and Alone in Berlin are more my speed.