DZERZHINSKY, FELIKS


Meaning of DZERZHINSKY, FELIKS in English

born Sept. 11, 1877, Dzerzhinovo, near Minsk, Russian Empire

died July 20, 1926, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.

Russian Bolshevik leader, head of the first Soviet secret-police organization.

Son of a Polish nobleman, he was repeatedly arrested for revolutionary activities beginning in 1897. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, he headed the newly created Cheka, which became Soviet Russia's security-police agency. He organized the first concentration camps in Russia and acquired a reputation as a ruthless and fanatical communist. In 1924 he was given control of the Supreme Economic Council.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.