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Dzerzhinsky
Father of the KGB
Under the direction of Lenin, Feliks Dzerzhinsky founded the "Cheka," the secret police responsible for the Red Terror. He learned the ways of terror through years spent in prisons, including the infamous Butyrka Prison. As leader of the Cheka, he applied these rules ruthlessly, overseeing the deaths of more than 200,000 people.
A shrewd spymaster, Dzerzhinsky added new levels of sophistication to spy craft, forever changing the face of espionage and counterespionage. His legacy lived on: the Cheka eventually became the KGB, one of the most feared secret police organizations of all time. |