Figured I might as well start this one here as it's almost guaranteed to end up here. See: http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htlead/articles/20150901.aspx It's long enough and involved enough that excerpting parts might be misleading. Overall impression is that Putin wasn't considered as among the top KGB men during his carreer there.
I found the article quite interesting but would find it hard to disupte a charge of it being propaganda. Whether it is true and accurate is another matter. Certainly the descriptions of his service in the KGB seem to fit with his current style of leadership. I'd like to see more from different sources though. Somehow doubt we will find many neutral ones ....