People's Commissar of Internal Affairs
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Народный комиссариат внутренних дел Naródnyi komissariát vnútrennikh dél |
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NKVD emblem
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1934 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Dissolved | 1946 |
| Superseding agencies | |
| Type |
Secret police Intelligence agency Law enforcement Gendarmerie Border guard Prison other emergency services |
| Jurisdiction | Soviet Union |
| Headquarters | Lubyanka Square, Moscow |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | Council of the People's Commissars |
| Child agencies |
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The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (Народный комиссариат внутренних дел, Narodnyi Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del), abbreviated NKVD (НКВД 
listen ), was the leading Soviet secret police organization from 1934 to 1946. It is known for its role in political repression and for carrying out the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin.
The agency was led by Genrikh Yagoda (executed in 1938), Nikolai Yezhov (executed in 1940) and Lavrentiy Beria (executed in 1953). The NKVD was formed from Felix Dzerzhinsky's Cheka, and it became known as the NKVD in 1934.
The NKVD conducted mass extrajudicial executions; conceived, populated and administered the Gulag system of forced labor camps; was responsible for the repression of the Kulaks, and the mass deportations of entire nationalities to uninhabited regions of the country. Its agents were responsible for the protection of Soviet borders and espionage (which included political assassinations), as well as for enforcing Stalinist policy in communist movements and puppet governments in other countries, most notably the repression and massacres in Poland.
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Wikipedia