the berlin wall had just fallen. all over east germany angry crowds roamed the streets, lashing out at symbols of communist rule. that night in dresden they found a target, the local kgb headquarters. a mob surrounded the building. as the hour grew later the crowd grew larger. inside peering through the curtains was a young kgb lieutenant colonel named vladimir putin. he was terrified that they were going to storm the building. putin was a junior officer. but the boss was away. he was in charge. the berlin wall in come down. police weren t going to help. and he called for instructions. desperate for help, putin dialed kgb headquarters in moscow. over and over again. finally one official told him simply, moscow is silent. and i think it felt like a deep betrayal to him. vladimir putin was on his own. he went down into the bowels of the building and fired up the furnace. he finds himself in the basements at a furnace shoveling documents as he hears demonstrations
countries around the globe. he made a dramatic speech to the german parliament in german. [speaking foreign language]. promising that russia was a friendly european nation. [speaking foreign language]. based on what i have seen so far, i think that the united states can do business with this man. putin started out making gestures toward wanting to join nato. most famously we had a great dinner last night had a little texas barbecue. putin won the heart of president bush. how are you. what we re talking about is a new relationship so that we can work together to make the world more peaceful.
vladimir putin must have been aware of this? of course, 100%. putin laughed at the accusation. [speaking foreign language]. who needs him, he said? but to putin navalny represents the threat of a popular uprising at home. and years earlier putin was rattled by the color revolutions abroad, in georgia, ukraine, in kyrgyzstan. three popular uprisings. led by people he still saw as russian. each ending with a topples strongman. all of it moved putin to form his own personal army. in 2016 he created a national guard, separate from the armed rces and under the direct control of his ministry of
a new iron curtain around russia. [speaking foreign language]. and ukraine gave the world a new churchill. much of the world is united? leadership of ukraine s president. year s of putin s efforts to divide the west. you now have the floor. were undone in a matter of days. but putin has not given up. not by any means. have you been able to fully grasp. a cnn exclusive .
hasn t been heard since the cold war. he spent almost an hour excoriating the united states and blaming us for everything. he says now we were living in a world of unchecked american power. you say you are bringing democracy and freedom, but you are bringing bloodshed and chaoses. in retrospect it s clear it was a portent of what was to come. fierce battle broke down on the fringe of the former soviet union. putin began to strike back. russian planes again bombing georgian targets this morning. invading a former soviet republic, georgia. 20% of the country in the course of five days. there was no substantial reaction to that war from the west. putin bluntly told the president war has started today. it was forgotten and neglected. and ignored within a month.