Researchers in Germany have found a Stasi identity card belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin from the period when he was a KGB officer active in the city of Dresden in what was then communist East Germany.

The director of the Stasi Records Agency, Konrad Felber, said in Tuesday's edition of the Bild daily newspaper that the existence of the document, which Putin held between the end of 1985 and the end of 1989, had been "completely unknown" up to now.

The identity card was found by chance after a media outlet had requested other documents from the archive, according to Felber.

Felber said the card would have allowed Putin easy access to all offices of the East German secret police, but that it didn't "automatically mean that [he] worked for the Stasi."

Read more: 57 years since the building of the Berlin Wall

Dramatic moment

However, it would have facilitated Putin's efforts to recruit German agents for the Soviet secret police, the KGB, without his having to tell anyone he worked for them, Felber said.

Putin was stationed as a KGB agent in Dresden from 1985 until 1989, when East Germany collapsed, and one of his daughters was born there.

He was an eyewitness to one of the most dramatic moments of the peaceful revolution that led to the country's dissolution when some 5,000 demonstrators gathered in front of the Stasi headquarters on December 5, 1989, demanding it hand over its documents. Some of those protesters also moved on to a nearby KGB villa with Putin present. Although their demand was not met, potential clashes with Soviet military personnel were avoided. Putin himself once said he had brandished a pistol to warn off the crowds.

Putin later went on to head Russia's FSB, the main successor to the KGB, before becoming Russian president for the first time from 2000-2008 and again in 2012 after a period in between as prime minister.

Read more: Stolen children of the GDR: 'I've always had the feeling he's alive somewhere'

Vladimir Putin: The road to power KGB cadet Born in St.Petersburg in 1952, Putin signed up with the Soviet intelligence agency the KGB right out of law school in 1975. His first assignment was to monitor foreign nationals and consulate employees in his home city, then called Leningrad. He was then assigned to Dresden, East Germany. He reportedly burned hundreds of KGB files after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Vladimir Putin: The road to power Political mentor Putin was one of the deputies to St Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak from 1991 to 1996. Sobchak met Putin at Leningrad State University and the two men were close until Sobchak's death in 2000. Despite accusations of corruption, Sobchak was never charged.

Vladimir Putin: The road to power Meteoric rise Putin quickly leapt from St.Petersburg to Moscow. In 1997, President Boris Yeltsin gave Putin a mid-level position on his staff — a position Putin would use to cultivate important political friendships that would serve him in the decades to come.

Vladimir Putin: The road to power Death of a friend Putin was deeply affected by Anatoly Sobchak's death in 2000. After the apprentice outstripped his teacher politically, Sobchak became a vocal early proponent of Putin's bid for the presidency. A year earlier, Putin used his political connections to have fraud allegations against Sobchak dropped, the beginning of a pattern for friends of the former spy.

Vladimir Putin: The road to power Temporary president In June 2000, Boris Yeltsin stepped down, leaving his prime minister to become interim leader. As he was running for his successful presidential campaign, corruption allegations from his time on the city government in St.Petersburg resurfaced. Marina Salye, the lawmaker who brought up the claims, was silenced and forced to leave the city.

Vladimir Putin: The road to power Tandemocracy When Putin was constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term in 2008, his Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ran in his stead. When Medvedev was elected, he appointed Putin as premier. This led to criticism of a "tandemocracy," in Moscow, with many people believing that Medvedev was Putin's puppet.

Vladimir Putin: The road to power Victory In March 2018, Vladimir Putin was elected to his fourth term as president. Because the presidential term has been extended, this means Putin will be in power for the next six years. However, the election was marred by a lack of opposition to the incumbent, as well as allegations of vote tampering and ballot-stuffing.

Vladimir Putin: The road to power Putin pushes for constitutional reform Less than two years after his latest election victory, Putin unexpectedly announced sweeping constitutional changes that prompted his most loyal ally, Dmitry Medvedev, to resign. He was replaced by little-known Mikhail Mishustin (R). Soon after that, Putin hinted he was willing to run again when his current term expires in 2024. Author: Elizabeth Schumacher



tj/msh (dpa, AFP)

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