Dziak, John J., Chekisty: A History of the KGB. Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1988.
Chekisty: A History of the KGB, by John Dziak, provides a descriptive background on why exactly state security was needed and formed under the Soviet Union. Dziak explains that there was a lot of suspicion and conspiracy initiated under the Bolshevik regime, causing the formation of the Cheka. He further explains how the secret police force was affected by changes such as the introduction of NEP, and the Hitler-Stalin alliance. This source is helpful for overall background on the evolution of the Russian secret police force, starting with the Cheka in 1917 and ending with the KGB in 1978.
Fedor, Julia, Russia and the Cult of State Security: The Chekist …show more content…
Fedora specifically focuses on the Khrushchev and Yeltsin-Putin eras because they were both periods of reorganization of the secret police. She mainly traces the rise and fall of the Cheka and the reasons behind periods of strength and weakness. Some specific instances she discusses are the Great Terror, modernization of the Soviet state, and the death of Stalin, and how they impacted the secret police force.
Daly, Jonathan W., The Watchful State: Security Police and Opposition in Russia, 1906-1917. Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press, 2004.
The Watchful State by Jonathan Daly focuses on whether on not the secret police was an effective organization, and how well it actually carried out its policing duties. Daly also focuses on pre-revolution secret police from 1906-1917. He discusses the different strengths and origins of the secret police and why it failed to prevent the Revolution. This source is useful because it helps explain the type of security Russia had before the Cheka was formally created.
Andrew, Christopher and Vasili Mitrokhin. The Sword and the Shield. New York: Basic Books,
Chekisty: A History of the KGB, by John Dziak, provides a descriptive background on why exactly state security was needed and formed under the Soviet Union. Dziak explains that there was a lot of suspicion and conspiracy initiated under the Bolshevik regime, causing the formation of the Cheka. He further explains how the secret police force was affected by changes such as the introduction of NEP, and the Hitler-Stalin alliance. This source is helpful for overall background on the evolution of the Russian secret police force, starting with the Cheka in 1917 and ending with the KGB in 1978.
Fedor, Julia, Russia and the Cult of State Security: The Chekist …show more content…
Fedora specifically focuses on the Khrushchev and Yeltsin-Putin eras because they were both periods of reorganization of the secret police. She mainly traces the rise and fall of the Cheka and the reasons behind periods of strength and weakness. Some specific instances she discusses are the Great Terror, modernization of the Soviet state, and the death of Stalin, and how they impacted the secret police force.
Daly, Jonathan W., The Watchful State: Security Police and Opposition in Russia, 1906-1917. Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press, 2004.
The Watchful State by Jonathan Daly focuses on whether on not the secret police was an effective organization, and how well it actually carried out its policing duties. Daly also focuses on pre-revolution secret police from 1906-1917. He discusses the different strengths and origins of the secret police and why it failed to prevent the Revolution. This source is useful because it helps explain the type of security Russia had before the Cheka was formally created.
Andrew, Christopher and Vasili Mitrokhin. The Sword and the Shield. New York: Basic Books,