in some ways, a case officer who ran agents but not some sort of super spy. scl i don t think he felt invigorated, that he was really making a meaningful contribution. so i think he felt a bit lost. the soviet people back home in the soviet union a progression of economic crises were exacerbated by ronald reagan s determination to outspin the russians in defense and bring the ussr to its knees. mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. the soviets and the kgb were reeling under tremendous strain and pressure from the west. soviet president mikhail gorbachev s attempts to reform the dying economy, glasnost and perestroika, were embolden s people behind the iron curtain to demand more liberty. for several years putin watched from a distance. in dresden. he missed out on perestroika. so the great breakthrough in terms of liberty is something he mentions, my wife and i saw this