Someone wrote a comment today on one of my posted "chapters" asking for more to be done on this topic and I could not agree more. The problem is that I am not a full time history professor who has the time and resources to post more than I am. I also agree that we need all remember what was some of the most unbelievable, Orwellian nightmare-like dystopia enforced during the Cold War by the KGB. However, the Soviet Union was maintained in its first years by fighting off other pretenders to the Russian Empire's thrown - regardless of what they called the seat of power. Besides the troops fighting in the Russian Civil War, Lenin had already formed the Cheka with the perfect bloodless "clean handed" man to lead it as Chekists executed scores of citizens who did not agree politically with the Bolsheviks.
Throughout the existence of the Soviet Union, secret police empowered by both their leaders and their sadistic natures propped up the regime until shortly before it fell. The fact that the head of the KGB and his minions of loyal agents and troops are the ones who lead the coup that served as the official end of the USSR is often lost on most people. Security agencies across the world still perform unimaginable acts on other humans in the name of "intelligence" while following orders - always following orders. It seems following orders is the perfect excuse for all sorts of crimes against humanity.
I promise to try to finish the next installment as soon as possible. In the meantime, and in order to lighten things up a bit, I present the following photo via slava1stclass. If only every security service agent looked like this fellow, they might not frighten us so much. It is likely that the colonel in the photo is an NKVD officer that eventually became an MVD agent in the early 1950s during the massive reorganization of internal, foreign and border intelligence services. Note the "egg" badge on his uniform (better pictures of these badges coming soon).
--Phillip
Throughout the existence of the Soviet Union, secret police empowered by both their leaders and their sadistic natures propped up the regime until shortly before it fell. The fact that the head of the KGB and his minions of loyal agents and troops are the ones who lead the coup that served as the official end of the USSR is often lost on most people. Security agencies across the world still perform unimaginable acts on other humans in the name of "intelligence" while following orders - always following orders. It seems following orders is the perfect excuse for all sorts of crimes against humanity.
I promise to try to finish the next installment as soon as possible. In the meantime, and in order to lighten things up a bit, I present the following photo via slava1stclass. If only every security service agent looked like this fellow, they might not frighten us so much. It is likely that the colonel in the photo is an NKVD officer that eventually became an MVD agent in the early 1950s during the massive reorganization of internal, foreign and border intelligence services. Note the "egg" badge on his uniform (better pictures of these badges coming soon).
--Phillip
