RUSSIA: A Glimse into the Notorious Cheka
When the Bolsheviks took power in Russia in 1917, things were chaotic. They had just overthrown the Provisional Government, World War I was still dragging on, and civil war was brewing. The new leaders knew they had enemies—lots of them. So they created a special force to deal with these threats. This group was called the Cheka, and it became the first of many secret police organizations in the Soviet Union. In this blog post, we will look at the history of this notorious organization that was the root of the infamous KGB, which later led to the FSB we know today. WHY WAS IT CALLED CHEKA? The full name was a bit of a mouthful: The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage ( in Russian Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya po bor'be s kontrrevolyutsiey i sabotazhem ). Most people just called it the Cheka or VeCheka . It was formed in December 1917, just weeks after the Bolsheviks seized power. They were the " sword and shield " ...