Felix Dzerzhinsky

Soviet revolutionary and politician (1877–1926)

Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (11 September [O.S. 30 August] 1877 – 20 July 1926), nicknamed Iron Felix (Russian: Железный Феликс), was a Bolshevik revolutionary and politician of Polish origin. From 1917 until his death in 1926, he led the first three Soviet secret police organizations—the Cheka, the GPU and the OGPU—establishing state security organs for the new Soviet government. Born to a Polish family of noble descent in Ozhyemblovo estate (now Dzerzhinovo), in Russian Poland, Dzerzhinsky embraced revolutionary politics from a young age, and was active in the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania party.

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