Oleg Kalugin headed overseas counterintelligence operations for many years at Russia's KGB secret services, where he oversaw operatives including future Russian President and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. As Kalugin became a vocal critic of the Soviet system during its final years, he was demoted and eventually forced to retire from the KGB in 1990. A Moscow court sentenced him in absentia to 15 years in jail for treason in 2002.

Kalugin today remains a fierce critic of Prime Minister Putin, whom he has called a "war criminal." He currently works for CI Centre, a counterintelligence consulting and training firm outside of Washington, D.C. He spoke to RFE/RL's Nik Krastev about his KGB career and the recent spy scandal in which 10 alleged Russian agents were expelled from the United States.