Summary. The Cheka was formed in the wake of the October 1917 revolution, as a small agency to investigate and deal with threats to the new regime. It was to be the “sword and shield of the revolution”, defending the new regime against its enemies within.

What was the point of the Cheka?

The Russian Civil War had made it clear that not everyone in what was to become the USSR favoured Lenin and the Bolsheviks being in power. The main task of the Cheka was to hunt out what became known as “enemies of the state” and to deal with them. This led to what became known as the “Red Terror”.

Who did the Cheka target?

In this, the Cheka said that they targeted "class enemies" such as the bourgeoisie, and members of the clergy; the first organized mass repression began against the libertarians and socialists of Petrograd in April 1918. Over the next few months, 800 were arrested and shot without trial.