Chekism
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Chekism was the form of counterintelligence state widely present in the Soviet Union by which secret police, counterintelligence and internal security services strongly controlled all spheres of socie
The Lubyanka Building in Moscow has served as the headquarters for Soviet and Russian intelligence agencies since 1917, and the term Lubyanka has become a metonym for the secret police.
A 1932 Soviet propaganda poster with the text "15 Years of Guarding the October Gains" shows a list of alleged anti-Soviet conspiracies getting struck by Cheka—OGPU lightning.
Silovik
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In the Russian political context, the siloviki are a group of officials originating in the 1990s from the state-security organs, the armed forces, and law-enforcement structures who have occupied posi
Chekism
…former FSB general, "A Chekist is a breed. ... A good KGB heritage—a father or grandfather, say, who worked for the service—is highly valued by today's siloviki. Marriages between siloviki clans are also encouraged". The head of the Russian Drug Enforcement Administration Viktor Cherkesov said that all Russian…
Putin with Sergey Lavrov, Alexander Bortnikov, and Sergei Naryshkin, 19 December 2016
Igor Sechin (right) was often described as one of the closest siloviki to Vladimir Putin. His nickname is Darth Vader
Putin briefs his inner circle on the outcomes of the Russia–United States summit in Anchorage, Alaska, 16 August 2025
Lubyanka CDM view from Panoramic view point 05 2015 img 03