on television but we weren't there when it happened. >> but after the berlin wall collapsed in november 1989, putin soon came face to face with changes sweeping the soviet bloc. the following month he was inside dresden's kgb headquarters when protesters surrounded the building. >> putin takes a pistol from a security guard, he holds it up and makes clear he will shoot anybody who fritries to get ins. but they don't know what to do beyond protecting the headquarters. >> he went inside, talked to the military attache, said contact moscow, find out what we need to do here, and the military attache responded to him, i've contacted moscow and moscow is silent. >> in the book "first person" putin states that "i got the feeling then that the country no longer existed, it had a terminal disease without a cure." >> this was this searing moment for him when suddenly he felt cut off from everything he'd