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In the gray villa at No. 4 Angelikastrasse here, perched on a hill overlooking the Elbe River, a young major in the Soviet secret police spent the last half of the 1980s recruiting people to spy on the West.

Vladimir Putin looked for East Germans who had a plausible reason to travel abroad, such as professors, journalists, scientists and technicians, for whom there were acceptable “legends,” or cover stories.

The legend was often a business trip, during which the agents could covertly link up with other spies permanently stationed in the West. According to German intelligence specialists who described Putin’s task, the goal was stealing Western technology or NATO secrets. A newly revealed document shows Putin was trying to recruit agents to be trained in “wireless communications.” But for what purpose is not clear.

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Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin

Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media Jan. 13 at St. Petersburg University. (AP File Photo)

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Click link below for article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/russiagov/putin.htm

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