Which KGB people captured the post-Soviet state?

Question

In this Interview, Luke Harding, a journalist, said that:

But what’s happened in the kind of post-Soviet era is that it’s been hijacked by a group of basically KGB people, who have captured the state and run it for their own purposes.

Are there any specific KGB people, that he addresses?

Theres nothing in the article, apart from Putin who was involved with the KGB; if there is anything it will be in the book he's promoting:Collusion: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money and how Russia helped Donald Trump win; I'm not a big fan of Trump, but one of his positives is how he might change the dynamic between Russia and the USA; imagine how different history could have been if the USSR and the USA had not fallen out after being allies during WWII - no cold war, no arms race, no proxy wars... — Mozibur Ullah, Dec 07 '17 at 17:25
Is there anything that's not covered in this Wiki article that you are seeking? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silovik — user4012, Dec 07 '17 at 17:31
Apparently the Daily Kos has an article that Putin was a hippie at one point with a fascination with The Doors front man - Jim Morrison; it's unbelievable! — Mozibur Ullah, Dec 07 '17 at 18:25
...which might have meant no blow-back, no 9-11; thats counter-factual of course; still its worth thinking over. — Mozibur Ullah, Dec 07 '17 at 19:07

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 28 '17 at 12:07

Are there any specific KGB people, that he addresses?

The most prominent example would be Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. He was a Lieutenant Colonel at the KGB as of his resignation from the service in 1991. Many of Putin's ministers and top government functionaries have also been KGB members in the past - Viktor Ivanov, Sergei Ivanov, Sergey Chemezov, Sergei Stepashin, etc. You can view a full list of well known KGB officers in this Wikipedia article.

The biggest problem with Russia's post-Soviet history is that essentially the very same people have continued ruling the country. Boris Yeltsin was the former President of the Russian Soviet Republic and the vast majority of cabinet officials in the 90's have been previous members of the Communist party as well. In contrast, countries like Poland and Czechia have enacted lustration laws which prevented top Communist officials from serving in a major capacity after 1991.

Which KGB people captured the post-Soviet state?

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