The All-Russian Emergency Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage was created by the Bolsheviks in order to cope with the army of officials who boycotted the new government and sabotaged the orders of the Council of People's Commissars. But party leaders quickly realized the value of state security agencies as the most important tool for controlling the country. So there were security forces, which in the old Russia was not. The new book by L. Mlechin tells about the triangle of power: party secretaries, military leaders, heads of special services...