Episodes
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Russian Secret Police Pt. 8 KGBrinksmanship
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Do you know somebody who was alive during the Cuban Missile Crisis? Do they remember how it felt thinking that the world may end in a literal flash? At least one could duck and cover their way into a false sense of safety. In this 8th episode of our Russia series, we are going to wrap up the early years of the KGB and explore some of the cold war tension in Berlin; uprising in Hungary, KGB activities in the US Civil Rights Movement, and the first visit of a Russian leader to the US. Khrushchev toured across the United States, met real Americans, and we missed a golden opportunity for photos of Khrushchev in Mickey Mouse ears.
What were Khrushchev’s limits when it came to liberalizing the Soviet Union?
How did the US and USSR back away from the brink of nuclear war?
Why was Khruschev not allowed at Disneyland?
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Sources:
The Russian Secret Police by Ronald Hingley
Nikita Khrushchev – The Man Behind the Missile Crisis. Biographics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGLD8bx7Qo&ab_channel=Biographics
Nikita Khrushchev. Spartacus Educational. https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSkhrushchev.htm
Taubman, William (2003), Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, W.W. Norton & Co., ISBN 978-0-393-32484-6
Khrushchev, Nikita (2004), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 1: Commissar, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02332-8
Khrushchev, Nikita (2006), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 2: Reformer, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02861-3
Khrushchev, Nikita (2007), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 3: Statesman, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02935-1
The Structure of KGB - Cold War DOCUMENTARY. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeZZYRaGUXQ&t=471s&ab_channel=TheColdWar
1963 Fletcher Markle Interviews Walt Disney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nMrLcmBCuI&ab_channel=onstageDisney
How KGB spies were trained | Jack Barsky and Lex Fridman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4oRBsGW_Tc&ab_channel=LexClips
Why People Betray Their Countries, According to an Israeli Expert. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2020-09-20/ty-article-magazine/.premium/why-whistleblowers-betray-their-countries-according-to-an-israeli-expert/0000017f-dc31-df62-a9ff-dcf752540000
Secrets Of War, The Cold War 05 Inside The KGB. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypuuxrxcVek&ab_channel=AnotherTv
KGB Assassinations. Spyscape. https://spyscape.com/article/the-13th-directorate-the-kgbs-top-secret-1960s-assassination-unit
Communist Control Techniques. An Analysis of the Methods Used by Communist State Police in the Arrest, Interrogation, and Indoctrination of Persons Regarded as “Enemies of the State.” National Security Archive. April 1956.
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. https://okupacijasmuzejs.lv/en
The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World - Newly Revealed Secrets from the Mitrokhin Archive. Christopher Andrew. 2005.
Information about the Cooperation between the KGB of the USSR and the MfS of the DPRK. Wilson Center. August 1984.
REALPOLITIK: The KGB in Africa. Mark Hackard. 2015.
Soviet Intelligence in Latin America During the Cold War. Nikolai Leonov. 1998.
The Sword and the Shield. Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin. 2000.
The History of Russian Involvement in America's Race Wars. Julia Ioffe. October 2017.
Why did the USSR hand over West Berlin? (Short Animated Documentary). History Matters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YPbue5bfgk&ab_channel=HistoryMatters
1963 Fletcher Markle Interviews Walt Disney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nMrLcmBCuI&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hykIPanJdicW55k2WWqn9Ov&index=2&t=774s&ab_channel=onstageDisney
Khrushchev Does America (full length documentary). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpxsNqAYXB8&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hykIPanJdicW55k2WWqn9Ov&index=3&ab_channel=docukino
Arkansas National Guard Prevent School Desegregation - 1957 | Today in History | 4 Sept 16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFVGKykCGyw&t=67s&ab_channel=BritishMovietone
Duck and Cover 1951 Bert the Turtle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60&t=493s&ab_channel=NuclearVault
Music:
Scorching Action by Jon Presstone
Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP
Cinematic Action Drums And Percussion With Dark Ambient Atmospheric Tension Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP
Dramatic Investigation by Jon Presstone
Darkness Marching (Trailer Music) Jon Presstone
Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Russian Secret Police Pt. 7 The KGB: Spycraft
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
In this 7th episode of our Russia series, we will take a deep dive into the KGB itself. We’ll examine its structure, leadership, and most of all, its methods with particular interest in the KGB’s infiltration of governments across the globe. Who were some of the KGB’s most prominent agents? How did one become a KGB agent? All that and more on Secret Police!
*** Socials ***
Twitter @hush_popo
Instagram @secretpolicepodcast
*** Support the show! ***
patreon.com/secretpolicepodcast
or
secretpolicepodcast.com for one-time donations via paypal
Sources:
The Russian Secret Police by Ronald Hingley
Nikita Khrushchev – The Man Behind the Missile Crisis. Biographics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGLD8bx7Qo&ab_channel=Biographics
Nikita Khrushchev. Spartacus Educational. https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSkhrushchev.htm
Taubman, William (2003), Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, W.W. Norton & Co., ISBN 978-0-393-32484-6
Khrushchev, Nikita (2004), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 1: Commissar, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02332-8
Khrushchev, Nikita (2006), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 2: Reformer, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02861-3
Khrushchev, Nikita (2007), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 3: Statesman, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02935-1
The Structure of KGB - Cold War DOCUMENTARY. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeZZYRaGUXQ&t=471s&ab_channel=TheColdWar
1963 Fletcher Markle Interviews Walt Disney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nMrLcmBCuI&ab_channel=onstageDisney
How KGB spies were trained | Jack Barsky and Lex Fridman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4oRBsGW_Tc&ab_channel=LexClips
Why People Betray Their Countries, According to an Israeli Expert. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2020-09-20/ty-article-magazine/.premium/why-whistleblowers-betray-their-countries-according-to-an-israeli-expert/0000017f-dc31-df62-a9ff-dcf752540000
Secrets Of War, The Cold War 05 Inside The KGB. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypuuxrxcVek&ab_channel=AnotherTv
KGB Assassinations. Spyscape. https://spyscape.com/article/the-13th-directorate-the-kgbs-top-secret-1960s-assassination-unit
Communist Control Techniques. An Analysis of the Methods Used by Communist State Police in the Arrest, Interrogation, and Indoctrination of Persons Regarded as “Enemies of the State.” National Security Archive. April 1956.
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. https://okupacijasmuzejs.lv/en
The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World - Newly Revealed Secrets from the Mitrokhin Archive. Christopher Andrew. 2005.
Information about the Cooperation between the KGB of the USSR and the MfS of the DPRK. Wilson Center. August 1984.
REALPOLITIK: The KGB in Africa. Mark Hackard. 2015.
Soviet Intelligence in Latin America During the Cold War. Nikolai Leonov. 1998.
The Sword and the Shield. Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin. 2000.
The History of Russian Involvement in America's Race Wars. Julia Ioffe. October 2017.
Music:
Scorching Action by Jon Presstone
Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP
Cinematic Action Drums And Percussion With Dark Ambient Atmospheric Tension Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP
Dramatic Investigation by Jon Presstone
Darkness Marching (Trailer Music) Jon Presstone
Dramatic Gossip - Reality Documentary Tension Background by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP
Disclaimer! The section on the Cambridge Five was written using the assistance of ChatGPT and was vetted for dates and facts.
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Russian Secret Police Pt. 6 The KGB: Khrushchev’s Rise
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Many if not most people have heard of the KGB. Their spy craft is legendary and their presence was menacing. To Americans, they were the illusive boogeymen in the shadows of Cold War events. They're probably the most recognizable Russian spy agency and I’d bet money they’re the most infamous spy agency in history, ever.
In Part 6, we are covering Nikita Khrushchev's steady rise to power and ultimate succession of Joseph Stalin, but Khrushchev took a very different path and actively reversed Stalin's repressive policies to some degree.Over the next few weeks, we will cover, in smaller episodes, the history and methods of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, the KGB.
Thank you for listening!
*** support ***
patreon.com/secretpolicepodcast
or
secretpolicepodcast.com
*** socials ***
Twitter @hush_popo
IG @secretpolicepodcast
Sources:
The Russian Secret Police by Ronald Hingley
Nikita Khrushchev – The Man Behind the Missile Crisis. Biographics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGLD8bx7Qo&ab_channel=Biographics
Nikita Khrushchev. Spartacus Educational. https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSkhrushchev.htm
Taubman, William (2003), Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, W.W. Norton & Co., ISBN 978-0-393-32484-6
Khrushchev, Nikita (2004), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 1: Commissar, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02332-8
Khrushchev, Nikita (2006), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 2: Reformer, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02861-3
Khrushchev, Nikita (2007), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 3: Statesman, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02935-1
The Structure of KGB - Cold War DOCUMENTARY. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeZZYRaGUXQ&t=471s&ab_channel=TheColdWar
1963 Fletcher Markle Interviews Walt Disney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nMrLcmBCuI&ab_channel=onstageDisney
How KGB spies were trained | Jack Barsky and Lex Fridman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4oRBsGW_Tc&ab_channel=LexClips
Why People Betray Their Countries, According to an Israeli Expert. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2020-09-20/ty-article-magazine/.premium/why-whistleblowers-betray-their-countries-according-to-an-israeli-expert/0000017f-dc31-df62-a9ff-dcf752540000
Secrets Of War, The Cold War 05 Inside The KGB. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypuuxrxcVek&ab_channel=AnotherTv
KGB Assassinations. Spyscape. https://spyscape.com/article/the-13th-directorate-the-kgbs-top-secret-1960s-assassination-unit
Communist Control Techniques. An Analysis of the Methods Used by Communist State Police in the Arrest, Interrogation, and Indoctrination of Persons Regarded as “Enemies of the State.” National Security Archive. April 1956.
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. https://okupacijasmuzejs.lv/en
The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World - Newly Revealed Secrets from the Mitrokhin Archive. Christopher Andrew. 2005.
Information about the Cooperation between the KGB of the USSR and the MfS of the DPRK. Wilson Center. August 1984.
REALPOLITIK: The KGB in Africa. Mark Hackard. 2015.
Soviet Intelligence in Latin America During the Cold War. Nikolai Leonov. 1998.
The Sword and the Shield. Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin. 2000.
The History of Russian Involvement in America's Race Wars. Julia Ioffe. October 2017.
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Bonus Episode! George Orwell’s Thought Police
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Friday Dec 30, 2022
George Orwell's famous novel, 1984, can be interpreted in multiple ways by people of varying political identities. They can offer the story as a warning as to why the other side, in their view is dangerous. When the book was published, some viewed it as a warning of what England would turn into if a Stalinist regime took power; others interpreted it as a condemnation of Stalin's Soviet Union; and in recent years, the novel is seen as a warning against totalitarianism. I think at the core of the novel, that's what it is: a warning against giving all power to a single ruler.
1984 presents a regime to end all regimes. Big Brother and INGSOC have a stranglehold over the society, language, and privacy that I don't think any real world authoritarian regime has achieved. Secret Police podcast is taking its first look at a fictional secret police institution, the terrifying, but thankfully made-up, Thought Police. We will look at the Telescreens, Thoughtcrime, and the regime of Big Brother.
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Twitter @hush_popo
or
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Sources
1984 by George Orwell
George Orwell: A Life in Pictures. BBC. 2003. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6txpumkY5I
George Orwell: The Uncompromising Visionary. Biographics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfabA0KdniY&ab_channel=Biographics
The Dystopian World of 1984 Explained. AlternateHistoryHub.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQxOKXEff4I&ab_channel=AlternateHistoryHub
Video SparkNotes: Orwell's 1984 Summary. VideoSparkNotes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9JIKngJnCU&t=13s&ab_channel=VideoSparkNotes
1984 Video Summary. GradeSaver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1kXkGjoluY&ab_channel=GradeSaver
Music
Scorching Action by Jon Presstone
Tension in the Dark by Jon Presstone
Gnosienne by Eric Satie performed by Neil Cross and Raighes Factory
Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP
Giant Wyrm by Kevin MacLeod
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Russian Secret Police Pt. 5 Beria’s NKVD
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Imagine a state apparatus of terror; they monitor citizens, they kidnap people in the middle of the night, they torture people to extract false confessions. Now imagine that same state apparatus of terror is run by a murderous pedophile. That was the Soviet people's reality with appointment of Lavrenti Beria to the dreaded People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs or the NKVD, the Soviet secret police.
Please leave us a rating, or a review if you're feeling really generous.
Follow Secret Police!
Twitter @hush_popo
Instagram @secretpolicepodcast
Sources
Beria - The NKVD & Death of Stalin Documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0bnt7hYmDY&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hwiZixdKcerUzA777jS27Ml&index=3&t=1927s
Lavrenti Beria Biography
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSberia.htm
Richard Sorge. https://spartacus-educational.com/GERsorge.htm
On Stalin's Secret Service - Richard Sorge - WW2 Biography Special. World War Two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn9NyRfbSOo&ab_channel=WorldWarTwo
Stalin and Trotsky rivalry
https://www.rbth.com/history/333272-how-stalin-and-trotsky-fought
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore.
Russia: The Wild East by Martin Sixsmith and the BBC.
Flowers in Russia: What You Need to Know by Matt Shannon. 2021. https://expatriant.com/flowers-in-russia/
The Finnish Language. LangFocus. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-uWYvlyeBc&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hwiZixdKcerUzA777jS27Ml&index=5&t=316s
Winter War - Soviet Finnish 1939-1940 War - FULL 3d DOCUMENTARY. Kings and Generals. 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Uk5bY22RSE&t=2448s
US Census. Quick Facts. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045221
The investigation of the dead or lost Finnish stages of Stalin's persecution will continue – SKS also finds out what traces of persecution left on the victims' descendants. Pekka Torvinen. https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000007766248.html
China and International Law -- The Boundary Disputes by Byron N. Tzou. 1990.
The end of "Millionka": the liquidation of Chinatown in Vladivostok (1936). Russia and the Pacific (in Russian). Vladivostok: Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (4): 24–31.
A Historical Investigation of the Soviet Union's Handling of the Chinese Issue in the Far East (1937-1938)]. Modern Chinese History Studies (in Simplified Chinese). Beijing: Institute of Modern History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2): 41.
Khisamutdinov, Amir Aleksandrovich (2018). "Millionka": a culture that grew up in the backyard.
The Origins of Soviet Ethnic Cleansing by Martin Terry. 1998. Journal of Modern History.
L'Affaire Lyushkov: Anatomy of a Defector by Alvin D Coox. 1968.
Why didn't the Allies declare war on the USSR when they invaded Poland? Knowledgia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBd60UsL9u0&ab_channel=Knowledgia
The NKVD: from Pen-Pushers to Communist Hit Squads - WW2 Special. World War Two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HwKl8VUZHA&t=507s&ab_channel=WorldWarTwo
State Committee of Defence Decree. Concerning the security measures in rear areas and communications of the Red Army in East Prussia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania. December 1944. https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2015/12/10/soviet-nkvd-iv/
Sonja Schmid. Producing Power: The Pre-Chernobyl History of the Soviet Nuclear Industry. 2015.
The Atomic Bomb, Russia and Spies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nOrMZCThNg&t=136s&ab_channel=JohnKerruish
Harry S Truman Library
Bombing of Hiroshima Newsreel from the AP
Music
Scorching Action by Jon Presstone
Tension in the Dark by Jon Presstone
Gnosienne by Eric Satie performed by Neil Cross and Raighes Factory
It’s Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas by Perry Como (a parody)
Mozart K.488 Piano Concerto #23 in A 2nd mov. Adagio
Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP
Electra to the Baltic Sea by Giuseppe Rizzo
Dramatic Investigation by Jon Presstone
Sad Smooth Piano Jazz Background Music by Volodymyr Piddubnyk
Eye Of The Storm (Feat. Cicely Parnas) - Instrumental Version Humans Win
Kalahari Wind by Humans Win
Sneaky Snitch by Kevin MacLeod
Giant Wyrm by Kevin MacLeod
Selected clips from The Death of Stalin (2017)
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
Russian Secret Police Pt. 4 The NKVD
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
The early USSR owes many of its achievements to Stalin's secret police, called the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, or the NKVD. These guys really took Russian espionage to a new level. Their reach was global in scale; nearly anybody Stalin wanted dead, the NKVD could get it done. They administered the infamous Gulags and repressed their own people. They blurred the lines between internal police and military force by supporting Leftists during the Spanish Civil War and infiltrating the Manhattan Project.
The NKVD was a secret police force dictators dream of: vast, pervasive, feared, deadly, deceptive. They were at Stalin's beck and call.
On this episode, we explore the history and methods of the NKVD under the leadership of Genrikh Yagoda and Nikolai Yezhov. We'll cover the NKVD during WWII under Lavrentri Beria in part 5.
Sources
The Russian Secret Police. Ronald Hingley. 1970.
Stalin: Paradoxes of Power. Stephen Kotkin. 2014.
How did the Soviet Union work? By Viki1999
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6emmgC6rsGA&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hzRxUfRlpUs9sapwTPnIg6C&index=2&t=665s
Joseph Stalin: The Red Terror
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqfcpNrcGb0&t=508s
Genrikh Yagoda
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSyagoda.htm
Nikolai Yezhov
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSyezhov.htm
Cannibal Island
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaOwcYLGTMo&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hzRxUfRlpUs9sapwTPnIg6C&index=4&t=108s
The Nazino Gulag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkauF4MndOw&t=518s&ab_channel=GoyimDefenceLeague
Cannibal Island location
http://wikimapia.org/14057879/Nazino-island
Gulag: History, Camps, Conditions, Economy, Effect, Facts, Quotes (2003). Interview of Anne Applebaum. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGeHPwgLm6Y&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hzRxUfRlpUs9sapwTPnIg6C&index=5
Gregory Zinoviev
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSzinoviev.htm
Nikolay Bukharin
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSbukharin.htm
Alexei Rykov
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSrykov.htm
Mikhail Tomsky
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUStomsky.htm
Sergey Kirov
https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSkirov.htm
Music
Scorching Action by Jon Presstone
Tension in the Dark by Jon Presstone
Gnosienne by Eric Satie performed by Neil Cross and Raighes Factory
Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP
Big Epic Drums by Psystein
March of the Defenders of Moscow by Alexey Surkov and Boris Mokrousov
Scheherazade Op. 35 by Rimsky Korsakov
Special Thanks To:
Sergey Vaynshank
Kristaps Andrejsons at the Eastern Border Podcast
Roberto at the History of Saqartvelo Georgia Podcast
*** Important *** Interview audio was edited for quality and soundbites that fit into the subject matter. I intent to post full interviews as bonus material provided I have permission from the interviewee.
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
Russian Secret Police Pt. 3 The Cheka
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
From 1917 to 1922, the Cheka terrorized the Russian people into dedicating their lives to the Soviet State. Old institutions were destroyed, people were targeted on the basis of their socio-economic status, and farmers were forced into collectives. Those who disobeyed were likely shot, the most unfortunate were subjected to sadistic torture not seen since the time of Ivan the Terrible.
Under the leadership of Vladimir Ilych Lenin, the Bolsheviks seemed at first to bring real, much needed change to Russia. But it didn’t take long for Lenin’s true intentions to become clear: a dictatorship of the proletariat with himself at the helm.
Lenin was a man with many similarities to those he later deemed political enemies. He was unwavering in his faith in Marxism, but tweaked Marx’ original writings into Leninism both in theory and in practice because, when it came to governing, Leninism was only achievable through the Red Terror unleashed by the Cheka.
Sources:
The Russian Secret Police. Ronald Hingley. 1970.
Stalin: Paradoxes of Power. Stephen Kotkin. 2014.
The Russian Civil War. Evan Mawdsley. 2005.
The Life of Lenin. Louis Fischer. 1964.
Vladimir Lenin: The Founder of the Soviet Union. Biographics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSWT8oPb1mM
Holidays in Russia
https://russiatrek.org/about-russian-holidays
Felix Dzerzhinsky
https://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/felix-dzerzhinsky/
Princess Stories: The Secret of Anastasia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e7t_jUt8sY&list=PLVtoTh3hF-hwvWhPtFZp9XVByI0uRvvLI&index=2
Thanks to @regina_imperatrix for the Anastasia film
Music:
Scorching Action by Jon Presstone
Tension in the Dark by Jon Presstone
Gnosienne by Eric Satie performed by Neil Cross and Raighes Factory
Mystery Warrior by LIVINGFORCE
Cinematic Ambient Orchestral Drama Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP
Final Speech by Humans Win (formerly Lance Conrad)
Big Epic Drums by Psystein
Ammil by The Tides
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlHZd94pdhQ
Wednesday Apr 27, 2022
Russian Secret Police Pt. 2 The Okhrana
Wednesday Apr 27, 2022
Wednesday Apr 27, 2022
Imagine for a moment you're an early 20th Century Russian factory worker in Moscow. You do your job everyday to support your family but it's dangerous work. You have moments when you wonder what you're family would do if you were injured or killed on the job. Then you overhear a coworker talking about a movement to petition your Tsar, Nicholas II, for better working hours and pay.
Laborers like you can join a union called the Moscow Mechanical Productions Workers' Mutual Aid Society that will advocate for these better conditions you've been hoping for. Plus this organization sounds like a better option than those radial groups out there throwing bombs at government officials.
But if this union sounds too good to be true, that's because it is. Unbeknownst to you, the union was created by the Tsar's secret police, the Okhrana, to spy on any potentially dangerous radicals.
Source:
The Russian Secret Police. Ronald Hingley. 1970.
Stalin: Paradoxes of Power. Stephen Kotkin. 2014
Fyodor I
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fyodor-I
Boris Godunov
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Boris-Godunov-tsar-of-Russia
American home square footage
https://www.statista.com/statistics/456925/median-size-of-single-family-home-usa
Lee, Eric (1993-06-01). "The Eremin letter: Documentary proof that Stalin was an Okhrana spy?". Revolutionary Russia. 6 (1): 55–96. doi:10.1080/09546549308575595. ISSN 0954-6545.
Butovo Memorial
https://coldwarsites.net/country/russia/butovo-execution-and-burial-site-moscow/
Rasputin’s Twig ‘n Berries
https://www.cultofweird.com/curiosities/rasputin-penis/
Inflation Calculator
https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
Music:
Scorching Action by Jon Presttone
Electra to the Baltic Sea (Full) by Giuseppe Rizzo
Ammil by The Tides
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlHZd94pdhQ
Giant Wyrm by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3807-giant-wyrm
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Welcome to
Secret Police Podcast
A crucial and often overlooked aspect of authoritarian regimes are the ranks of the political or secret police. More akin to a paramilitary force than your average cops, secret police enforce the ideology of the State and the personal agenda of a dictator.
On this podcast, Jack takes a deep and detailed dive into the history, methods, and the people of the world's most infamous secret police forces such as the KGB or the Gestapo.
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About the Host
The idea for Secret Police podcast came to me while reading The Dictator's Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith. There are plenty of references to secret police forces in this book. Being a curious person, I search for podcasts on the Okhrana for example and found a surprising lack of information. I discovered that while you can find content about specific secret police, no show had attempted to catalog all of them . . . until now.
I bring a long time interest in history, a bachelors of science in economics, a masters degree in epidemiology, and a couple years of podcast experience from running my OG show, Head Cold. I hope you enjoy the podcast!