The Secret Police

Who were the secret police in the USSR?

The secret police was an organisation which had the job of eliminating any opposition to communist rule.

What were the secret police known as in the USSR?

The secret police were variously known as:

• ❖ The Cheka, or All-Russian Extraordinary Committee to Combat Counter-Revolution and Sabotage, from 1917 to 1922.
• ❖ The GPU, or State Political Directorate, in 1922.
• ❖ The OGPU, or All-Union State Political Board, from 1923.
• ❖ The NKVD, or People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, from 1934 to 1953.
• ❖ KGB or ,Committee for State Security, from 1954.

What was the Soviet secret police's primary responsibility?

The secret police removed and suppressed all opposition:

• ❖ The Cheka committed the Red Terror during the Civil War.
• ❖ They participated in the attack on the kulaks during collectivisation.
• ❖ The NKVD carried out the Great Purge under Stalin.

What were the techniques of the Soviet Secret Police?

The secret police in the USSR used 4 main - and extreme - techniques:

• ❖ Mass arrests.
• ❖ Forced confessions under torture.
• ❖ Development of informant networks.
• ❖ Quotas were introduced in July 1937, with Order 00447 setting out how many arrests the NKVD was expected to make and how many people should be executed.