Cheka

American  

[che-kah] / ˈtʃɛ kɑ /

noun

1. (in the Soviet Union) the state secret-police organization (1917–22), succeeded by the GPU.

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Cheka British  

/ ˈtʃɛka /

noun

1. Russian history the secret police set up in 1917 by the Bolshevik government: reorganized in the Soviet Union in Dec 1922 as the GPU

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Other Word Forms

• Chekist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Cheka

1920–25; < Russian Cheká, Vecheká, names of the initial letters of Vserossíĭskaya chrezvycháĭnaya Kommíssiya ( po bor'bé s kontrarevolyútsieĭ, spekulyátsieĭ i sabotázhem ) All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (for the Struggle against Counterrevolution, Speculation and Sabotage)

Example Sentences

Primate zoo keeper Cheka Heihn described Rudi as shy at first, but playful once zoo staff got to know him.

From Reuters • Dec. 21, 2022

Upendi - which means love in Swahili - was born at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire to 25-year-old mum Cheka.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2022

The head of the Cheka, Felix Dzerzhinsky, brought 1,400 men into Ukraine to deal with unrest.

From Slate • Dec. 19, 2019

Her action coincided with a day honoring the agency’s employees, which falls on the anniversary of the creation of the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2017

In the building of the Soviet, where we came to exchange our horses, there was being held a meeting of the "Cheka."

From Beasts, Men and Gods by Ossendowski, Ferdinand