Cheka

American  

[che-kah] / ˈtʃɛ kɑ /

noun

1. (in the Soviet Union) the state secret-police organization (1917–22), succeeded by the GPU.

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Cheka British  

/ ˈtʃɛka /

noun

1. Russian history the secret police set up in 1917 by the Bolshevik government: reorganized in the Soviet Union in Dec 1922 as the GPU

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Other Word Forms

• Chekist noun

Etymology

Origin of Cheka

1920–25; < Russian Cheká, Vecheká, names of the initial letters of Vserossíĭskaya chrezvycháĭnaya Kommíssiya ( po bor'bé s kontrarevolyútsieĭ, spekulyátsieĭ i sabotázhem ) All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (for the Struggle against Counterrevolution, Speculation and Sabotage)

Example Sentences

Upendi - which means love in Swahili - was born at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire to 25-year-old mum Cheka.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2022

The head of the Cheka, Felix Dzerzhinsky, brought 1,400 men into Ukraine to deal with unrest.

From Slate • Dec. 19, 2019

Her action coincided with a day honoring the agency’s employees, which falls on the anniversary of the creation of the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2017

Makhno infiltrated the Ukrainian state border in 1918 with a forged passport fabricated by Muscovian Cheka.

From Economist • Nov. 22, 2013

In the building of the Soviet, where we came to exchange our horses, there was being held a meeting of the "Cheka."

From Beasts, Men and Gods by Ossendowski, Ferdinand