The role and place of the All-Russian extraordinary commission for combating counter-revolution, speculation, and sabotage (CHEKA) in the policy of the red terror

The article is devoted to the study of the role of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, Speculation, and Sabotage, also known as the Cheka, in the mechanism of red terror policy during the Civil War. The author agrees with the opinion of Doctor of Historical Sciences O. Mozokhin about the hopeless search for the right and the guilty in this matter, and believes that the study of the causes and characteristics of the repressive policy is very important. The paper through the prism of activities of the state security bodies of Soviet Russia, on the base of documentary sources considers the factors that influenced the repressive policy of the Bolsheviks. On the base of case study of Vyatka security officers, periodicals and criminal law of the time, the author proves that the key factor was the position of the central authorities of Soviet Russia. Meanwhile, it is impossible to belittle the importance of insurmountable antagonism in Russian society. The author also reveals the peculiarities of the terror during the Civil War and assesses the results of the punitive policy pursued by Cheka.