What was the official name of the OGPU?
Q: What was the official name of the OGPU?
A: The official name of the OGPU was the Joint State Political Directorate.
Q: What did the OGPU do in 1926?
A: In 1926, the Soviet criminal code was amended to include a section on "anti-state terrorism" and this gave the OGPU increased powers.
Q: What was one of its most successful operations?
A: One of its most successful operations was known as the Trust Operation which ran from 1924-1925. It involved luring anti-Communist operators into Russia where they were captured and killed.
Q: How did Stalin respond to opposition views?
A: Stalin made a public decree that any and all opposition views should be considered dangerous and gave the GPU (OGPU) authority to seek out hostile elements.
Q: What system did it create?
A: The OGPU created the Gulag system for prisoners in labour camps.
Q: How did it persecute religious organizations?
A: The OGPU persecuted religious organizations such as Russian Orthodox Church, Greek Catholics, Latin Catholics, Islam and other religious organizations.
Q: When did it merge into another agency? A: The OGPU merged into the newly created all-union People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) in July 1934 before becoming more widely known as Committee for State Security (KGB).
