http://www.boston.com/dailynews/170/world/Putin_defends_KGB_experience_s:.shtml

Putin defends KGB experience, says it gave him skills to work with people

By Deborah Seward, Associated Press, 6/19/2001 04:37

MOSCOW (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with pride about his years in the former Soviet security services, noting that it puts him in the same class as American statesmen Henry Kissinger and former President George Bush.

''When I spoke with Kissinger and told him where I worked, he thought about it and said, 'All decent people started in intelligence,' and I did, too,'' Putin said, speaking to a group of journalists in the Kremlin on Monday night.

Putin then referred to President George W. Bush's father, noting the former intelligence director ''was not working in a laundry, he was working in the CIA.''

Asked how a security background might help him run Russia, Putin said: ''The most important thing is an experience of working with people, with all kinds of people.''

A career KGB officer during the Soviet era, Putin was stationed in the former East Germany before returning to Russia.

He defended the organization, saying people did not suffer from persecution by the KGB at the time he was trained and joined. He denied ever having been involved in activities he might be called to account for one day.

Some Russian intellectuals and scientists have warned that Putin is trying to activate old surveillance networks and say those measures, including a requirement that some report their foreign contacts to authorities, are eroding democratic values and liberal institutions.

Foreigners are discouraged from conducting independent research.

A key asset among agents, Putin noted, is an ability to work with large volumes of information and identify priorities.

''What was cultivated in the security community and the intelligence community as the most important asset was patriotism and love of your country.''

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2001