Institution

OGPU

1923–1934 · 20th century · Also known as Joint State Political Directorate

The OGPU (Joint State Political Directorate) was the Soviet political police from 1923 to 1934, successor to the Cheka and GPU. Led by Felix Dzerzhinsky and then Vyacheslav Menzhinsky, it suppressed opposition, staged early show trials and enforced the collectivisation of agriculture, deporting some two million peasants as kulaks to special settlements and expanding the system of forced-labour camps. In 1934 it was merged into the NKVD.

OGPU
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Soviet UnionGovernance

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Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). OGPU. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ogpu
MLA
“OGPU.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ogpu. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “OGPU.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ogpu.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘OGPU’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ogpu (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻