Cheka
The All-Russian Emergency Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage, or Cheka for short, was the first security organization of the Soviet Union.
History[edit | edit source]
The Cheka was founded in 1917 by a decree from Vladimir Lenin, and became the military arm of the Bolsheviks and the driving force behind the Red Terror. This was a violent campaign aimed at all opposition against the new communist system, and Cheka committees were established in various cities and across all administrative levels of Russia. Members of the Cheka were known as Chekists, a name which persisted long after the organization was replaced by other secret police forces, only fading in usage during the 1980s.[1]
During the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War, the Chekists were not above recruiting convicted criminals and murderous psychopaths to carry out their "dirty work". These recruits patrolled city streets armed with pistols and rifles,[2][3] and posed a threat to the Assassin Nikolai Orelov as he attempted to protect Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna.[4]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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A Cheka officer -
A Cheka assault trooper
Appearances[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
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