The Development and Function of the Cheka, 1917-1922

The Cheka, an acronym for the Russian name of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counterrevolution and Sabotage, was the first incarnation of the Soviet secret political police. This paper seeks to chronicle the organization\u27s development and basic activities from its inception in 1917 until it was renamed in 1922. Responsible for enforcing the Bolshevik seizure of power and eliminating or neutralizing opposition, given the right to use nearly any means necessary in fulfilling its ends, consisting especially on the local level largely of poorly educated men often with criminal backgrounds, the Cheka laid the foundations for institutionalized terror in the Soviet Union and itself became responsible for a still unclear number of deaths in the name of furthering and protecting the Revolution