Cheka

Facts about the Cheka...

Cheka: the Soviet agency responsible for state security
Full Name: The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage (Russian: Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия по борьбе с контрреволюцией и саботажем; Vserossijskaya Chrezvychajnaya Komissiya). Quite a mouthful, isn't it?
When: 1917 - 1922
More: The Cheka was the first of a string of Soviet State Security agencies. It soon became an important military force, crucial to the Soviet government's survival. In 1954, it became the KGB.

For more information on the Cheka, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheka, and if that bores you, check out http://vip.latnet.lv/LPRA/celmina/1.html. It's a little more interesting!