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FILE - This file photo shows a portrait of Bolshevik revolutionary Leon Trotsky, founder of the Red Army, taken on Aug. 9, 1940, shortly before he was fatally attacked, Aug. 20, 1940, at his home in Mexico City. Once seen as the most likely successor to Vladimir Lenin as the leader of the Soviet Union, Trotsky lost a power struggle with Josef Stalin and fled abroad. A Soviet agent attacked Trotsky in 1940 with an ice axe, mortally wounding him. (AP Photo/File)

For decades, Moscow has sought to silence its critics abroad

From its earliest days, the Soviet Union’s intelligence services — whether known as the Cheka or the names of any of its successor agencies like the KGB — kept the government in power by pursuing its opponents no matter where they lived

By Emma Burrows
Published - May 03, 2024, 12:40 AM ET
Last Updated - May 27, 2024, 01:04 AM EDT

From its earliest days, the Soviet Union's intelligence services — whether known as the Cheka or by the names of any of its successor agencies like the KGB — kept the government in power by pursuing its opponents no matter where they lived.

Intelligence experts say that policy is still followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself a product of the KGB who does not disguise his scorn for perceived traitors, defectors and other political enemies abroad. The Kremlin has routinely denied involvement in such attacks.

The Cheka secret police, founded by Felix Dzherzhinsky, often used assassins to hunt down enemies of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Security expert Andrei Soldatov said the work of the Kremlin's intelligence services, then and now, has been defined by threats from dissidents abroad.

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