With the post-Soviet state crumbling under the drunken presidency of Boris Yeltsin, armed gangsters and Chechen terrorists posed deadly risks. So too did the unruly security services trying to tackle them. “There were roadblocks set up around town, where the street militia were quite capable of being violent if it suited them,” Dannenberg recalls.
Adding to the chaos were disgruntled Russian intelligence officers, upset at their beloved KGB being dissolved. Within its replacement, the FSB, certain elements “weren’t under complete control,” Dannenberg explains. They were “capable of undertaking actions” without seeking permission from the Kremlin.
Dannenberg remembers meeting the former KGB colonel during the first of his two stints in Moscow, in the mid-1990s. He shook hands with Putin, who was merely a government official at the time, during a reception at the US ambassador’s residence.
Dannenberg returned for a second spell in the early 2000s when the CIA promoted him to Moscow station chief – the top US spy in Russia. He had “full access” to every piece of intelligence on the country sourced by the agency’s officers.
By then, Putin was President.
“Those of us who served in Moscow understood Putin maybe a little bit better early on than others did,” says the CIA veteran, speaking to *The i Paper* from his home in Colorado. When the Russian dictator annexed Crimea and occupied eastern Ukraine in 2014, then launched his full-scale war in 2022, “none of us were surprised”.
From the very start, Putin’s political ethos was about restoring state control, rebuilding the military and achieving mastery over other former Soviet republics. “Ukraine is the single most important element in that still unfulfilled part of Putin’s vision,” says Dannenberg.
“I dealt with the KGB my entire life,” he adds. “I understand how this guy thinks.”
smersh101 on
That’s cool and all, but a six year old with a modest awareness of social interaction could manipulate Trump.
Various_Doubt_8191 on
Without clicking the article you know this is already going to be the most brain damaged and waste of time read just by the title.
Obviously Putin knows how to manipulate people, the dude was in the KGB. And calling Trump a man is a bit of a stretch, my 1.5 year old son has more brain development than him.
lPuppyl on
How in the actual fuck is this news lol you give trump a nice looking shiny fake golden plate and you can get anything from him. There is no doubt in my mind that he was given millions in the 90s by the Russians to be a political puppet. Either by promoting anti-west ideologies or pro-Russia propaganda. They probably expected him to become a House representative or even a senator but never in a million year did they expect him to become president.
It’s funny hearing the intelligent community bringing this up all the time. Yet not a single one did anything about it.
Rambaz_69 on
It’s quite easy to manipulate Trump. Depending on the case, you give him more or less money, but it has to be a few million dollars, and then he’s convinced.
reddititty69 on
Anybody can manipulate Trump.
Imakemyownnamereddit on
Trump is weak minded and not very bright. The head of Fifa managed to buy him off with a fake peace prize.
There is also a reason he is called TACO. Like all bullies, he is basically a coward.
The moment anyone stands up to him, he folds.
CokaYoda on
Apparently it’s not hard. Even Tim Apple knows how to do it
hoffman4 on
This was clear to many of us since the first election-Trump owed Russia millions and would never pass a security check for clearance if he had been an employee of the US government. Totally compromised
12 Comments
When Rob Dannenberg arrived in [Moscow](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/moscow-victory-parade-pictures-how-far-russia-fallen-3681308?ico=in-line_link) in the late 1990s to take on a senior role with [the CIA](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/cia-trumps-mistakes-scary-3768498?ico=in-line_link), the Russian capital was a wild and dangerous place.
With the post-Soviet state crumbling under the drunken presidency of Boris Yeltsin, armed gangsters and Chechen terrorists posed deadly risks. So too did the unruly security services trying to tackle them. “There were roadblocks set up around town, where the street militia were quite capable of being violent if it suited them,” Dannenberg recalls.
Adding to the chaos were disgruntled Russian intelligence officers, upset at their beloved KGB being dissolved. Within its replacement, the FSB, certain elements “weren’t under complete control,” Dannenberg explains. They were “capable of undertaking actions” without seeking permission from the Kremlin.
“There were plenty of Russians who held a deep grudge, and still do to this day, about [the collapse of the Soviet Union](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/uk-last-soviet-union-ambassador-how-putin-can-lose-4080238?ico=in-line_link),” he says.
One of them, was [Vladimir Putin](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/how-putin-will-threaten-the-uk-in-2026-4094960?ico=in-line_link).
Dannenberg remembers meeting the former KGB colonel during the first of his two stints in Moscow, in the mid-1990s. He shook hands with Putin, who was merely a government official at the time, during a reception at the US ambassador’s residence.
Dannenberg returned for a second spell in the early 2000s when the CIA promoted him to Moscow station chief – the top US spy in Russia. He had “full access” to every piece of intelligence on the country sourced by the agency’s officers.
By then, Putin was President.
“Those of us who served in Moscow understood Putin maybe a little bit better early on than others did,” says the CIA veteran, speaking to *The i Paper* from his home in Colorado. When the Russian dictator annexed Crimea and occupied eastern Ukraine in 2014, then launched his full-scale war in 2022, “none of us were surprised”.
From the very start, Putin’s political ethos was about restoring state control, rebuilding the military and achieving mastery over other former Soviet republics. “Ukraine is the single most important element in that still unfulfilled part of Putin’s vision,” says Dannenberg.
“I dealt with the KGB my entire life,” he adds. “I understand how this guy thinks.”
That’s cool and all, but a six year old with a modest awareness of social interaction could manipulate Trump.
Without clicking the article you know this is already going to be the most brain damaged and waste of time read just by the title.
Obviously Putin knows how to manipulate people, the dude was in the KGB. And calling Trump a man is a bit of a stretch, my 1.5 year old son has more brain development than him.
How in the actual fuck is this news lol you give trump a nice looking shiny fake golden plate and you can get anything from him. There is no doubt in my mind that he was given millions in the 90s by the Russians to be a political puppet. Either by promoting anti-west ideologies or pro-Russia propaganda. They probably expected him to become a House representative or even a senator but never in a million year did they expect him to become president.
I wish this was just a conspiracy theory but … eh… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hanssen
It’s funny hearing the intelligent community bringing this up all the time. Yet not a single one did anything about it.
It’s quite easy to manipulate Trump. Depending on the case, you give him more or less money, but it has to be a few million dollars, and then he’s convinced.
Anybody can manipulate Trump.
Trump is weak minded and not very bright. The head of Fifa managed to buy him off with a fake peace prize.
There is also a reason he is called TACO. Like all bullies, he is basically a coward.
The moment anyone stands up to him, he folds.
Apparently it’s not hard. Even Tim Apple knows how to do it
This was clear to many of us since the first election-Trump owed Russia millions and would never pass a security check for clearance if he had been an employee of the US government. Totally compromised
Duh!
Doubt Trump is that hard to “convince”