At 37 years of age, Mr Putin served as a KGB lieutenant colonel stationed in the East German city of Dresden during the unrest that culminated in the fall of the Berlin Wall. A documentary made by Russian State TV claims Mr Putin watched on as angry crowds overran the offices of the East Germany secret police, before they then moved to target the headquarters of the KGB in the city.
Mr Putin requested armed backup in an effort to quell the crowds and protect employees in the offices. He also feared that sensitive files would fall into the wrong hands.
According to the account, when no help came, Mr Putin came up with an improvised lie to try and intimidate the crowds into halting their chaotic demonstrations.
According the the History Channel, he told the crowd armed men were waiting inside the offices to shoot at unwelcome demonstrators.
A witness’s account shown in the documentary claimed Mr Putin used his fluent German to dissuade the crowds from raiding the offices.
Mr Putin allegedly said: “This is Soviet territory and you’re standing on our border. I’m serious when I say that I will shoot trespassers.”
The lie worked, with the mob sparing the building, and the agents and files remaining in the building unscathed.
It is difficult to verify how accurate the claims of Mr Putin’s heroics are given Russian media’s pro-state bias.
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His feelings about the demise of the Soviet Union are also clear.
The Russian President has previously said that the subsequent Soviet collapse was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the twentieth century.”
In today’s political climate, Russia has appeared determined to keep Eastern Europe detached from western blocs such as the EU and NATO.
Ukraine has suffered from the annexation of Crimea, Balkan countries have been denied membership in the EU due to Brussels’ concerns over Moscow’s power, and Baltic nations have endured intervention into their domestic politics even after joining NATO.