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The Cheka: Lenin's Political Police
Established by Lenin just six weeks after the coup of October 1917, the Cheka was Soviet Russia's first political police organization. This closely documented study chronicles the Cheka's emergence as a vast, ubiquitous, and all-purpose apparatus for the suppression of internal opposition.
Answerable solely to the Central Committee of the Communist Party as its "special organ of merciless summary justice," aspiring to security surveillance over the entire society, the Cheka set the scene for the 20th-century totalitarian police state and the succession of formidable Soviet political
police agencies, from Stalin's OGPU and NKVD to today's KGB.
Answerable solely to the Central Committee of the Communist Party as its "special organ of merciless summary justice," aspiring to security surveillance over the entire society, the Cheka set the scene for the 20th-century totalitarian police state and the succession of formidable Soviet political
police agencies, from Stalin's OGPU and NKVD to today's KGB.
- GenresHistoryRussiaNonfiction
Paperback
First published July 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Shelved as 'skimmed-or-partial-read'
October 19, 2018“A revolution without firing squads is meaningless,” said Lenin. And Lenin’s revolution was very, very bloody, with the Cheka/Vecheka playing a large role in the Soviet takeover and consolidation of power.
I didn’t read this cover to cover, but for those interested, it was well-researched (as much as a Westerner could manage in 1981). The writing was academic, at times a little dry, but not painfully so. The writer assumes some basic knowledge of Russian history, so this probably shouldn’t be a reader’s first book on early twentieth century Russian history, but it offers a wealth of information for anyone interested in the topic.
I didn’t read this cover to cover, but for those interested, it was well-researched (as much as a Westerner could manage in 1981). The writing was academic, at times a little dry, but not painfully so. The writer assumes some basic knowledge of Russian history, so this probably shouldn’t be a reader’s first book on early twentieth century Russian history, but it offers a wealth of information for anyone interested in the topic.
December 8, 2024
Hrestomātisks un neticami izsmeļošs pētījums, kuru vēlams lasīt pirms/pēc/līdztekus Meļgunovam
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews