GPU

E85097

intelligence agency secret police state security organization

The GPU (State Political Directorate) was the Soviet Union’s early secret police and intelligence agency that operated in the 1920s, overseeing political repression and internal security before later reorganizations.

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form	Occurrences
OGPU	6

Statements (45)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	intelligence agency ⓘ secret police ⓘ state security organization ⓘ
continent	Asia ⓘ Europe ⓘ
country	Soviet Union ⓘ
dissolved	1923 ⓘ
fullName	Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR ⓘ surface form: State Political Directorate
governmentAgencyType	political police ⓘ security service ⓘ
headquartersCountry	Soviet Union NERFINISHED ⓘ
headquartersLocation	Moscow ⓘ
historicalContext	post–Russian Civil War consolidation of Soviet power ⓘ
historyNote	continued many functions of the Cheka with formal reorganization ⓘ
ideology	Marxism–Leninism ⓘ
inception	1922 ⓘ
jurisdiction	Russian SFSR ⓘ surface form: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Soviet Union ⓘ
languageOfWork	Russian ⓘ
legalStatus	state organ ⓘ
loyalty	Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks) ⓘ surface form: Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) Soviet government ⓘ
mainFunction	counterintelligence ⓘ internal security ⓘ political repression ⓘ surveillance of political opponents ⓘ
nativeName	Государственное политическое управление ⓘ
nativeNameLanguage	Russian ⓘ
notableActivity	enforcement of Bolshevik rule ⓘ monitoring of opposition parties ⓘ operations against perceived counterrevolutionaries ⓘ suppression of political dissent ⓘ
operatedInPeriod	early Soviet period ⓘ
oversight	Council of People's Commissars ⓘ surface form: Council of People’s Commissars of the Russian SFSR
parentOrganization	NKVD ⓘ surface form: NKVD of the Russian SFSR
partOf	Soviet state security organs ⓘ surface form: Soviet security apparatus
predecessor	Cheka ⓘ surface form: All-Russian Extraordinary Commission Cheka ⓘ
regionServed	territory of the Russian SFSR ⓘ
reorganizedAs	GPU self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: OGPU
securityRole	protection of Soviet leadership ⓘ protection of key state facilities ⓘ
shortName	GPU ⓘ
successor	Joint State Political Directorate ⓘ GPU self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: OGPU