Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (August 30 1877 - July 20 1926), nicknamed "Iron Felix", was a Bolshevik revolutionary and official. Born into Polish nobility, Dzerzhinsky led the first two Soviet state-security organizations, the Cheka and the OGPU, from 1917 until his death in 1926. Dzerzhinsky was best known for establishing a secret police for the post-revolutionary Soviet regime. He was one of the architects of the Red Terror and decossackization. This volume gives some insight into the rationalizations behind Iron Felix's actions.