This year marks exactly 100 years since the creation of the Cheka, the most powerful investigative-operational organization in the history of the Soviet state. On this occasion, a commemorative medal was issued, which symbolizes the continuity of the traditions of the first Soviet investigative and investigative body by modern Russian special services. The medal depicts a shield and a sword, around which the abbreviation of the Cheka and the FSB is inscribed, topped with the number 100. This memorable sign is a symbol of recognition of the merits of Soviet security officers who have become a reliable shield in the way of the intrigues of internal and external enemies. The current Federal Security Service is an organization that can rightfully be considered the successor of the All-Russian Emergency Commission.
The anniversary of the formation of the Cheka is in the period when the modern Russian intelligence services reached the peak of their power. Having taken all the best and getting rid of the shortcomings of the Soviet state security agencies, the FSB is today a powerful and powerful organization in the entire post-Soviet space. In many ways, the current state of affairs in the work of the Russian special services was influenced by the methods and style of work of the security officers, which in most cases were textbook.
How did the Cheka
After the victory of the October Revolution, the young Soviet state was trapped in the grip of external and internal revolution. If the young Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army entered the battle with foreign policy and counterrevolutionary opponents on the battlefield, the Soviet regime was virtually defenseless on the domestic front. Counter-revolutionary elements, gangsters of all stripes and marauders, were operating in cities and villages. The lack of an organized structure capable of carrying out police functions led to the violent flourishing of crime. Genesis was overwhelmed by a wave of robbery and murder; in the economy, plundering of socialist property was in full swing. One of the forms of struggle against the gains of the revolution was sabotage, which brought into collapse entire branches of the national economy.
As a result of the October Revolution, restructuring affected all branches of government. After the Provisional Government in March 1917 disbanded the Police Department, the departments that were responsible for the rule of law in the country were dissolved, the archives of the police and detective department were destroyed and burned. Lawlessness in the country lasted almost 9 months. The Bolsheviks, who came to power, could not afford to watch the rampant crime in the country. Already on December 20, 1917, under the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, abbreviated SNK, an operational investigative body, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission, was formed.
Note: From this moment December 20 is the date celebrated as a holiday of security personnel, first within the framework of the USSR KGB, and now as employees of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.
The main function, which was assigned to the new structure, was to counter the counter-revolutionary elements, organize sabotage and fight organized crime. The initiator of such an organization with the widest powers was V.I. Lenin, who made big bets on the new body. In his opinion, it is the security officers who must become a real thunderstorm for antisocial elements, conspirators and provocateurs. Cheka should be an effective tool in the fight against internal and external counterrevolution.
The first head of the Cheka, F.E. In a short time, Dzerzhinsky was able to put a new structure on its feet, organize a search at the proper level, and restore the activities of the operational investigative unit. The emergence of such a powerful organization in the hands of the young Soviet state made it possible in the following years to eradicate sabotage, suppress anti-Soviet uprisings, eliminate a number of conspiracies to eliminate the leaders of Soviet Russia and overthrow the Soviet Government. The main merit of F.E. Dzerzhinsky is that he was able not only to restore the working capacity of police supervision in the country, but also to organize effective counterintelligence activities. It was “Iron Felix” that contributed to the organization in the structure of its firm a department engaged in counter-intelligence activities in order to ensure the country's defense.
The created structure was called the Special Department of the Cheka. Her duties included collecting intelligence information and countering the leakage of data from their military units of the Red Army and Navy of the young Republic. In each army unit, a man appeared who was responsible for protecting state secrets and supervising the personnel of the armed forces. With such an organization, the army managed to create a stable mechanism of control over the political situation and ensure reliable counteraction against social and political elements that decompose the army. First, a special department of the Cheka, then the unit "SMERSH" as part of the NKVD, managed not only to put the military counterintelligence service at the highest level, but also to achieve high levels.
After 100 years, the Cheka is still considered one of the most efficient and effective organizations in the world performing police functions.
Soviet Chekists were in the 20s of the XX century the most trained staff who are able to perform any tasks. On account of the security officers, hundreds of uncovered conspiracies, the disclosure of intelligence networks of intelligence of Western countries. Thanks to the bloody terror, criminal crime in Soviet Russia during the existence of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission was practically eradicated. Hundreds of gangsters, burglar thieves and pickpockets were either caught and convicted, or arrested and shot on the spot. Cheka became an organization that appeared at the right time and was in its place.
The role and place of the Cheka Cheka in ensuring the security of the state
Having shown high efficiency in all areas of its activities, the Cheka created an excellent ground and platform for further work in this direction. Already on February 6, 1922, the Decision was made to abolish the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission. The reason for the liquidation of the emergency commission was that the Civil War ended in the country, it was necessary to move from military actions to peaceful construction. The need for emergency measures gradually disappeared. The work of the special services needed a new structure and reorganization that would meet the new prevailing social and social conditions.
However, the liquidation of the Cheka did not lead to the disappearance of the KGB. The reorganization has led to the fact that now the powers of the "emergency" have been transferred to the General Political Department (GPU). The nature of the activities of the new structure has changed somewhat, but the main activities have remained. Preserved the continuity of generations. The staff of the Office received a new form, in essence, remaining the same Chekists. After "Iron Felix", the post of the head of the OGPK was held by V. Menzhinsky. For the first time, the special functions of the paramilitary units, which became the prototype of the internal troops, were included in the structure of the Directorate for the functions of fighting counter-revolutionary elements in all forms.
In the summer of 1934, the OGPU was incorporated under the new name of the Main Department of State Security into the newly created People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union (NKVD). Since that time, the security officers have become full-fledged employees of the state security service. In contrast to the OGPU, the new structure was engaged in purely detective, intelligence and counterintelligence activities. Chekists were in charge of the penal system and border troops.
Until 1954, the successors of the Cheka were both separately the NKGB and the NKVD, only in the person of the independent People's Commissariat. Only after Stalin’s death in the USSR was the State Security Committee organized, which included former ministerial services and departments in charge of state security. Over the next 35 years, the KGB vigilantly stood guard over the interests of the Soviet state, being one of the most powerful intelligence services in the world. In 1987, together with the celebrations on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, the 70th anniversary of the Security Service was celebrated. On this occasion, a commemorative badge with the abbreviation Cheka-KGB was even released.
The rank of Chekist Cheka in the new Russia
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country's security service was in a half-awake state for a long time. Many members of the security services were forced to move to a semi-legal state. The years of perestroika and publicity affected when a large-scale company unfolded in the country to discredit the State Security Committee and detract from the merits of the KGB before the homeland. After the liquidation of the KGB on its material and technical base, the foreign intelligence service was first established, and in 1993 the federal counterintelligence service appeared.
Since 1995, the Federal Counterintelligence Service was renamed the Federal Security Service as the successor to the Cheka, the NKVD, the MGB and the KGB. To emphasize the continuity of the new division, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 20.12. In 1995, a holiday was established - the Day of Security Service Employees, which is celebrated on December 20, the day of the issuance of the Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR on the organization of the All-Russian Emergency Commission.
This year, the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the FSB will be celebrated with special pomp. A commemorative medal was issued, which shows the continuity of domestic security agencies - “100 years of the Cheka-KGB-FSB”.
