Thanks for your reply. I don't know about Putin....isn't he former KGB? And not just an agent. I think he was fairly high in the infrastructure of the bureau. I'd have to extend my dad's thoughts on communism to include the KGB specifically and I don't think you can argue that such a high ranking member of that deadly service did it because he wanted to further his career and this was the only way to do so in this strict system. It takes a dedicated communist to further the horrible agenda of the KGB.
Yes, KGB. He was a KGB colonel posted to the so-called German Democratic Republic (what a joke). After his service in East Germany, Putin went to work for the reformist mayor of Sanct-Peterburg, Anatoly Sobchak. During the bolshevik attempted coup of August of 1991, Sobchak, allied himself with the commander of the Kronstadt, Captain Melnikov. Melnikov agreed to give Sobchak, Putin, and the rest of the local government sanctuary at Kronstadt. Instead, Sobchak rallied hundreds-of-thousands of Russians at the Palace Square. This rally, along with the support of the Russian military in St.Petersburg helped unravel the coup. It is interesting that Putin stood with Sobchak against the neo-bolsheviks.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that the jury is still out on Putin. Supporters and detractors can point to various things in his career that bolster their arguments. I suppose no one really knows, except pooty-poot (as our great President refers to him).