The Formation of the All-Union Extraordinary Commission
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17605/cajssh.v5i7.1133Keywords:
Bolshevik policy, Neo-Nazi statehood, “dictatorship of the proletariat”, Provisional Government, Bourgeoisie and landowners, Soviet government, Information department, Organizational department, Struggle department, Administrative apparatus, Administrative organizationAbstract
This article examines the formation and early activities of the All-Union Extraordinary Commission (VChK), highlighting its evolution into a powerful punitive body under Soviet rule. The study explores the roles of V. Lenin and F. Dzerzhinsky in its establishment, emphasizing the Commission's primary focus on identifying and suppressing "counter-revolutionaries" opposed to the regime. Despite its initial operational and investigative mandate, the VChK rapidly expanded its authority by 1918 due to internal political unrest and external threats, assuming unlimited powers to arrest, investigate, judge, and execute. Addressing a gap in understanding the sociopolitical impacts of this institution, this research employs a historical-analytical method to trace its transformation into an elite organization with unchecked influence. The findings reveal the VChK's central role in consolidating Soviet power and its implications for governance and civil liberties during this period.
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[2] 20 Let VCHK-OGPU-NKVD, Moscow, Russia: Moscow Publishing, 1938, p. 22.
[3] Krasnaya Kniga VCHK, vol. 1, Moscow, Russia: Moscow Publishing, 1989, p. 4.
[4] A. Litvin, Krasniy i Beliy Terror v Rossii 1918-1922gg. (Top Secret), Moscow, Russia: Moscow Publishing, 2004, pp. 68–69.
[5] M. Latsis, “Tovarish Dzerzhinskiy i VCHK,” Proletarskaya Revolyutsiya, no. 9 (56), p. 83, 1926.
[6] Pravda, no. 290, Dec. 18, 1927.
[7] Sovetskaya Derevnya Glazami VCHK-OGPU, vol. 1, 1918–1922, Moscow, Russia: Moscow Publishing, 1998, pp. 17–18.
[8] Krasnaya Kniga VCHK, vol. 1, Moscow, Russia: Moscow Publishing, 1989, p. 4.
[9] RGASPI, F.-76, 3-op., 34-delo, l. 1.
[10] Iz Istorii Vserossiyskoy Cherezvichaynoy Komissii (1917–1921 gg.): Sbornik Dokumentov, Moscow, Russia: Moscow Publishing, 1958, p. 103.
[11] K. V. Skorkin, Kratkaya Istoriya VCHK-GPU-OGPU (1917–1924 gg.), Moscow, Russia: Moscow Publishing, 2017, pp. 45–46.
[12] A. S. Iosilevich, “Osobiye Otdeli i ix Znacheniye v Dele Sozdaniya Krasnoy Armii,” Voyennaya Misl, vol. 1, Sep. 1920, p. 126.
[13] W. Hedeler, “Pravo na Repressii: Vnesudebnye Polnomocija Organov Gosudarstvennoj Bezopasnosti (1918-1953),” Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 449–451, 2008.
[14] W. Hedeler, “Pravo na Repressii: Vnesudebnye Polnomočija Organov Gosudarstvennoj Bezopasnosti (1918-1953) [Das Recht auf Repressionen: Die außergerichtlichen Vollmachten der Organe der Staatssicherheit (1918-1953)],” Istorija XX Veka. Sud'by, Sobytija, Dokumenty, Versii, pp. 449–451, 2008.
[15] B. Bonwetsch, “Der ‘Große Terror’ – 70 Jahre Danach,” Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 123–145, 2008.
[16] M. Borák, “Moskevská Pohřebiště,” Češi a Českoslovenští Občané Popravení v Moskvě v Letech 1953 (1922), p. 168, 1922.
[17] S. Baron, “Ethnic Minority Rights: Some Older and Newer Trends,” Yearbook of International Law, 1985.
[18] A. Stent, Putin's World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest, Hachette UK, 2019.
[19] A. N. Amino, Problems of Nationalism: A Philosophical and a Historical Perspective, San Jose State University, 1997.
[20] J. Rislakki, The Case for Latvia: Disinformation Campaigns Against a Small Nation, vol. 15, Rodopi, 2014.
[21] K. Brodkin and C. Strathmann, “The Struggle for Hearts and Minds: Organization, Ideology, and Emotion,” Labor Studies Journal, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 1–24, 2004.
[22] J. Ernst and A. J. Schleiter, “Organizational Identity Struggles and Reconstruction During Organizational Change: Narratives as Symbolic, Emotional, and Practical Glue,” Organization Studies, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 891–910, 2021.
[23] V. Hämäläinen, Struggle over "Who We Are": A Discursive Perspective on Organizational Identity Change, Helsinki University of Technology, 2007.
[24] J. A. Harrison, S. H. Lopez, and A. W. Martin, “Rethinking Organizational Decoupling: Fields, Power Struggles, and Work Routines,” Social Currents, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 341–360, 2015.
[25] H. Salamah and L. Alnaji, “Challenges Leading to Project Struggles in IT Project Management Office,” WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics, vol. 11, pp. 262–271, 2014.
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Published
2024-11-20
How to Cite
Abdulkhalikovna, R. I. . (2024). The Formation of the All-Union Extraordinary Commission. Central Asian Journal of Social Sciences and History, 5(7), 268–275. https://doi.org/10.17605/cajssh.v5i7.1133
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