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Russian Secret Police Pt. 6 The KGB: Khrushchev’s Rise
Many if not most people have heard of the KGB. Their spy craft is legendary and their presence was menacing. To Americans, they were the illusive boogeymen in the shadows of Cold War events. They’re probably the most recognizable Russian spy agency and I’d bet money they’re the most infamous spy agency in history, ever.…
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Bonus Episode! George Orwell’s Thought Police
George Orwell’s famous novel, 1984, can be interpreted in multiple ways by people of varying political identities. They can offer the story as a warning as to why the other side, in their view is dangerous. When the book was published, some viewed it as a warning of what England would turn into if a…
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Russian Secret Police Pt. 5 Beria’s NKVD
Imagine a state apparatus of terror; they monitor citizens, they kidnap people in the middle of the night, they torture people to extract false confessions. Now imagine that same state apparatus of terror is run by a murderous pedophile. That was the Soviet people’s reality with appointment of Lavrenti Beria to the dreaded People’s Commissariat…
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Russian Secret Police Pt. 4 The NKVD
The early USSR owes many of its achievements to Stalin’s secret police, called the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, or the NKVD. These guys really took Russian espionage to a new level. Their reach was global in scale; nearly anybody Stalin wanted dead, the NKVD could get it done. They administered the infamous Gulags and…
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Russian Secret Police Pt. 3 The Cheka
From 1917 to 1922, the Cheka terrorized the Russian people into dedicating their lives to the Soviet State. Old institutions were destroyed, people were targeted on the basis of their socio-economic status, and farmers were forced into collectives. Those who disobeyed were likely shot, the most unfortunate were subjected to sadistic torture not seen since…
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Russian Secret Police Pt. 2 The Okhrana
Imagine for a moment you’re an early 20th Century Russian factory worker in Moscow. You do your job everyday to support your family but it’s dangerous work. You have moments when you wonder what you’re family would do if you were injured or killed on the job. Then you overhear a coworker talking about a…
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Russian Secret Police Pt. 1 The Oprichniki
They wore black robes and rode black horse like a monastic order of death itself. From 1565 to 1572, the Oprichniki inflicted medieval terror, and torture, upon the Russian people in the name of Ivan the Terrible. ***Content Warning*** contains descriptions of torture techniques. This is the first part of a series on Russian secret…
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Trailer: Secret Police
TRAILER! Welcome to a new podcast called Secret Police. This show is dedicated to the lap dogs of dictators. Special operatives that employ surveillance and terror upon their own people. We will explore their histories, their brutal methods, and their eventual downfalls. Listen to Secret Police ad free wherever you get podcasts.
The Secret Police Podcast 