Cheka
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (Russian: Всеросси́йская чрезвыча́йная коми́ссия, tr. Vserossíyskaya chrezvycháynaya komíssiya, IPA: [fsʲɪ.rɐˈsʲij.skə.jə t͡ɕrʲɪz.vɨˈt͡ɕæj.nə.jə kɐˈmʲi.sʲɪ.jə]), abbreviated VChK (Russian: ВЧК, tr. Ve-Che-Ka, IPA: [vɛ t͡ɕe ˈka]), and commonly known as Cheka (Russian: Чека́, tr. Cheká, IPA: [t͡ɕɪˈka] from the initialism ЧК, ChK), was the first of a succession of Soviet secret-police organizations. Established on December 5 (Old Style) 1917 by the Sovnarkom, it came under the leadership of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a Polish aristocrat-turned-communist.
By late 1918 hundreds of Cheka committees had sprung up in the RSFSR at the oblast, guberniya, raion, uyezd, and volost levels.
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