Library of Congress
Loc: Revelations From the Russian Archives: Secret Police
This site from the Library of Congress is a brief description of the history of the secret police in the Soviet Union. Its origins are found during the time of the revolution.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Cheka
An explanation of what the Cheka was and the activities they engaged in to quell opposition under Lenin's rule.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Great Purge
A detailed summary of Stalin's Great Purges during the 1930s. Gives some information on Nikolai Yezhov, head of the NKVD from 1936-1938 (which was the most intense period of the purges).
Hanover College
Hanover College: Ukrainian Famine
Archived by the Library of Congress and presented here by Hanover College, these are excerpts of historical records from the early decades of the Soviet Union, when Stalin forced collectivism and industrialization on the Russian people.