Transcript
Home Depot Advertiser (0:00)
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Narrator (0:30)
The Red menace is unraveling Lt. Col. Vladimir Putin stares with rage through the frosted window of his office inside the KGB headquarters. The unassuming three story villa is in the center of Dresden, one of the few buildings to withstand the Allied bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. Now the town of 500,000 people is controlled by the Communist Party in East Berlin, which takes its orders from Moscow. The KGB building boasts a communal kitchen, a recreation room, an armory, accommodations for visiting diplomats and a lavish ballroom adorned with marble busts of Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin. On the ground floor, a hidden door reveals a subterranean complex of prison cells, torture chambers and an execution space that is frequently used. Three stories above, the 37 year old Putin runs a vast network of undercover agents for his superiors in the Kremlin. His men have infiltrated many governments in Europe, including France, Great Britain and Italy. The Komitet Gozodarsvinya Bezopasnistie, or kgb, is Russian for Committee for State Security. It was established after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953 and remained the Soviet Union's main security agency until its dissolution in 1991. The lieutenant colonel wears a brown suit, green tie and smokes his favorite brand of German cigarettes, F6 filters, exhaling plumes of tobacco as he watches a violent spectacle unfold on the street below. Putin is a muscular man of average height with blond hair slicked to the side. A thin mustache lines his upper lip. The KGB man extinguishes his cigarette. Removing a loaded pistol from his belt, Putin places it on the windowsill next to an ashtray. The gun is an anniversary gift from his wife, Lyudmila. Outside, an angry mob is gathering. It has been a fast rise for Vladimir Putin. Born to World War II veterans and raised in the slums of Leningrad, the young man earns a rough reputation as a local gang leader and judo champion. He quickly gains the attention of undercover KGB agents and is recruited into the agency. The 22 year old Putin is trained in hand to hand combat, counterintelligence and torture. His first assignment is the surveillance of foreigners in Leningrad. For five years, Vladimir hunts Russia's perceived enemies Dozens of alleged spies are taken into custody by the kgb. Many are innocent. Some vanish. The Communist leaders in Moscow are pleased. In 1985, Putin is promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned to lead the KGB's operations in East Germany, a major job. There, his training in torture is put to use. First target, Freya Kleer, the pro Western Theater director, is allegedly spreading democratic propaganda through underground newsletters. Under Putin's order, the 36 year old woman is placed under constant surveillance. She is soon arrested in Dresden and subjected to corrosion. For weeks she endures isolation, surveillance, threats and efforts to destroy her reputation and personal relationships. Freya ultimately relents. Facing certain death, the activist accepts expulsion from Dresden and is forcibly relocated to West Germany. Destitute and alone, Freya Kleer escapes with her life. Many of Putin's enemies are not so fortunate. Freya Kleer settled in West Berlin. Today she lives as an author, activist, theater director and filmmaker. End footnote Dresden is on edge. Across the street from Colonel Putin's headquarters is the main office of the Ministerium for Staatsischerheit, Ministry of State Secrets. To Germans, this place is known to house the dreaded Stasi, modeled after the Nazi ss. Tens of thousands of plainclothes agents scour East Germany, arresting all political opponents. The Stasi officially operates under orders from East Berlin, but the group is really controlled by the KGB and Putin himself. Over the years, millions of innocent civilians are detained. Many are violently interrogated. Some die, subjected to torture. Family members, including children, testify against each other. The East German police state descends into barbarity.