Was Putin a good KGB agent? | Jack Barsky and Lex Fridman

I don't think anyone is seriously debating whether Putin is smart or dumb. Putin is clearly smart to rise to be the leader of Russia and hold power for over 22 years is no easy feat.

Wow, I was impressed by Jack Barsky openness when he said directly "You have just gave me a good lesson". He would be brilliant person for a chat.

We don't know a ton about his time as a kgb agent, so I can't imagine he was that bad of one. My guess is that he wasn't one to push the envelope too much and was always able to position himself well so he never took the fall for stuff going wrong

Lex shows good example of steel man in push back on Kalugin's opinion. Jack shows intelligent re-evaluation of his position based on point made by Lex. This is how good interviews are done. I will have to watch the whole interview. Great clip.

You should interview Yuri Shvets, who graduated from the same KGB institute as Putin, but unlike Putin he was stationed in Washington. He lives in the states, speaks perfect English and has a YouTube channel.

Lex you're a great interviewer, it is the first time I watch your show, keep it up man!

You are on the right path Lex with your determination to discover truth. Truth is the key to civilizational progress.

You can see the conflict running behind Lex in this interview. Truly to be impartial in this type of scenario has to be very difficult to impossible in a interview. I tend to think only people who are truly impartial would have to be from a different world. Props to him as he attempts as most people won't even go that far.

One thing that's true of intelligence-gathering as well as any other workplace--people who get promoted aren't always the best at the job, and the best at the job aren't always the ones who get promoted. Highly-motivated, highly-talented intelligence officers don't usually last sixteen years like Putin did-a lot of them burn out in less than a decade because espionage is one of the most difficult, most stressful professions in the world.

My father met him in Moscow after the fall of ussr. My father was secret service and went there with the president Al detail. He knew my mothers name and knew she just gave birth to me. Crazy to think of

Lex you sir are an awesome non-bias interviewer!

Lex doing his best William F. Buckley impression in this interview.

Lex you were superb on this one. The gentleman remarked that poutin was not exceptional as an agent. This is likely true to the degree that in many fields the best are not promoted into positions where they are less effective. The "best agents" are too valuable in their positions in those key European countries he mentioned to ever reach leadership positions. What poutin did have was the necessary competence, ambition, and opportunity rise within his organisation. What is perhaps more significant is his ability to maintain in power for so long and effectively eliminate all competition.

What makes a 'good' KGB Agent? It's not all being covert or turning assets. Organizational skills are always useful, in EVERY job. If you're a plumber who has no organizational skills, even if you're the best plumber in the world, your results will be overpriced and take too long. I think this is drilling in at weird angles to get the result you're looking for.

Whether Putin was a good or bad kgb agent is moot. He discovered he was good at networking and getting in with the right people. Putin obviously has charisma. Like every boss while I was home watching T.V. he was doing something work related. His performance as a kgb agent was good enough to get him in the door with the big players. Someone thought e as good..

Man. Lex Friedman is a smart ass.

Imagine taking anything a "former" intelligence operative has to say at face value.

You don’t have to be good - just survive.

Excellent interviewing.

if they say a particular agent was BAD....i believe tht agent has already cemented his grounds clean and is VERY GOOD to a point others didn't bother him.