| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| Dzerzhinsky, Feliks Edmundovich |
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(fy ´ly ks dm n´d vch dzrzh n´sk) (KEY) , 1877–1926, Russian Bolshevik leader, organizer, and first chairman (1917–21) of the Cheka (see secret police). He was the son of Polish aristocrats. Under his direction, the reign of terror against anti-Bolsheviks reached its height in 1918. Dzerzhinsky also headed the agencies that succeeded the Cheka (the OGPU and the GPU) and held other high posts. |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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