Red Terror

• • The Cheka terrorised enemies of the Bolsheviks during the Civil War and the so-called Red Terror. The Cheka was then renamed the GPU (State Political Directorate) in 1922, and then the OGPU (All-Union State Political Directorate) in 1923.
  • During the Red Terror 1918-1919, between 50,000 and 140,000 people were executed, and concentration camps were established on the Solevetsky Islands.
• • As early as December 1917, all non-Bolshevik newspapers, even those of other left wing groups, were banned.
  • The Kadet Party was banned and its leaders arrested.
  • Law courts were replaced by Revolutionary Tribunals, and the Cheka shot enemies of the Bolsheviks.