SMERSH and the end of the NKVD

Part II

How Stalin Used SMERSH to Murder Millions

Above: a classic wartime warning propaganda poster designed to make the average Soviet citizen wary of gossiping or talking to strangers as they might be enemy agents (as in the case of the poster - a Nazi in disguise). The literal translation of the text is "Chatting - Helping the Enemy!" Such posters were a common site in Soviet cities during the years of the Great Patriotic War from 1941-1945. These posters were the product of Soviet security services and were one of the many contributing factors to the ultimate fear and paranoia experienced by Soviet citizens after WWII who were indoctrinated into a society of self-imposed terror that the neighbor might either be an anti-Soviet subversive or one of the people who might call the security services (NKVD-KGB) first.

A propaganda poster reminding Soviet citizens to help "Ruthlessly destroy fascist saboteurs."

On paper, SMERSH was a wartime creation to enhance military counterintelligence in the field. It served as a rickety bridge linking the NKVD/NKGB to the MGB/KGB. As a type of "Special Department" or "OO" in abbreviated Russian, SMERSH was supposed to be strictly drawn from the military counterintelligence section of the GUGB (formerly the OGPU - All-Union State Political Directorate but subordinated to the NKVD in 1941). Military counterintelligence had always been and would remain until 1991 under the purview of the state security organizations from the Cheka to the KGB. Military intelligence was under the direction of the GRU (Russian: Главное Разведывательное Управление or transliterated - Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye) or Main Intelligence Directorate (of the USSR Army General Staff). However, in practice, when SMERSH was officially formed in March-April 1943 it had numerous incarnations both in its own branch and subordinated groups within the NKVD which were written/typed in official documents as "Smersh" rather than the all-caps "SMERSH" befitting the acronym it is for the Russian smert' shpionam, or "Death to Spies," allegedly coined by Stalin himself.





"Do not talk on the phone [carelessly]. A spy could be listening." A 
propaganda poster showing an NKVD officer hanging up the phone 
another soldier was attempting to use.

The creation of SMERSH was necessary on many levels - regular Red Army/Navy desertions to problems of Nazi spies and saboteurs infiltrating the Soviet ranks, anti-Soviet partisan groups and even the "peasants" of many of the newly (re-)occupied territories along the fronts between the Soviets and the Germans - all required some "organized assistance" to either work with Stalin's government or be hounded and/or crushed by it. However, as "OO" units and eventually SMERSH grew in size and power, there were practically no guards of the guardians. No one within the ranks of the Soviet Military or civilian population was immune to being arrested, tortured, jailed, sent to prison/work camps (not unlike Nazi concentration camps) or simply executed, often in front of the soldiers they served with or in the case of civilians, in front of the workers they once toiled along side. However, officers in SMERSH were being watched by the NKVD's Smersh agents and vice versa. This "overseeing" allowed Lavrentii Beria (head of the NKVD) to maintain his power after most of the main intelligence/counterintelligence duties were transferred to the reformed NKGB and SMERSH.

"Help the Red Army to capture Spies and Saboteurs" 
- another Soviet intelligence propaganda poster.

When Stalin recombined all of the security services under the NKVD in 1941 after the Nazis began their blitzkrieg into the Soviet Union in a three-prong attack aimed at the southern regions, Moscow and Leningrad, he continued to keep the Special Services ("OO") in charge of military counterintelligence. Military counterintelligence consisted of many specific duties, some of which are mentioned above such as ferreting out fascist spies (both real and imagined), preventing desertion - often by shooting those that retreated without a direct order from the generals who ordered the original attack - and gathering information from captured German soldiers. These were some of the basic duties of SMERSH later, once they were created to replace - or rather enhance - the OO, but the actual full spectrum of atrocities committed by SMERSH agents has only come to light in recent years. 

SMERSH only came into existence once the momentum shifted in favor of the Allies in April 1943, and powers were once again redistributed among the Soviet security services. Such was the nature of SMERSH that the mere existence of the organization was denied by the Soviets and then only until fairly recently by the Russian government. 

At the same time on April 19, 1943 the NKGB - People's Commissariat for State Security - was reestablished as the Soviet "secret police" as well as its foreign and counter-intelligence service. The NKVD was left to perform the tasks its name suggests - "internal affairs." However, the "affairs" addressed by the NKVD more often than not included the widespread repression and elimination of political dissent with an ever-growing number of casualties. 

SMERSH was not simply the third branch of the wartime Soviet intelligence system, it was a vast network of enforcers of Stalin's will as well as that of other elite members of the security services who regularly abused their authority. The list of atrocities attributed to members of SMERSH - both under orders and acting alone - rivals that of the NKVD itself - even during the "terror" of the 1930s. 

A Few Pictures of Older Chekist Materials Whilst Continuing Combing Through the Latest Data on SMERSH for Future Chapters

A photo of what appears to be a NKVD border guard posing in front of a regiment flag/banner. That particular pose, with the same type of PPSh automatic rifle is similar to that of the Medal for Distinguished Service in Protecting the State Border that was issued beginning in 1950 by the State Security Committee of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet [meaning "Council"] of the USSR. Once the NKVD was dismantled into the MVD and the MGB (Ministry of State Security) and in 1954 into the KGB, the Border Guard was placed under the control of the KGB. KGB Border Guard troops played an important role in the Soviet-Afghanistan War - particularly at the outset in December of 1979. 

A почетная грамота ("Pochetnaya Gramota")
or roughly a "Certificate of Recognition" in
honor of the 20th anniversary of the NKVD's
armed troops awarded to V.K. Lovanova.

Gramotas were a common citation awarded to
civilians as well as military and security
personnel for a variety of reasons and
achievements. Photo by Robert S. Pandis

Throughout the 
history of the
Soviet security
services, leaders
and members
alike had an
affinity for
finely - and
especially early
on - hand-crafted
badges of honor
and/or
distinction from
both the public
and each other.

Typically, these badges were rather ornate and made from silver, fine enamel work and frequently were gold-plated in specific areas, particularly the hilt of the ubiquitous sword.

If this were a real badge it would be a very rare OGPU honor badge that does not have the ubiquitous Soviet Communist phrase: "Workers of the World Unite" as this one does. Rather, it should read something more along the lines of: "For the Struggle Against the Counterrevolution" since nearly all Soviet Security Service award badges have a text beginning with the Russian word "за" or "for" in English.

Granted, many of the highest ranking members of the Communist regime (generals, commissars and other political "elites" in the Kremlin) were given some of the later commemorative and/or anniversary badges as a token of homage or respect (or as a bribe) for who they were and for the positive influence they could bring to bear in favor of the organizations. This happened more often much after the KGB (Committee for State Security) and the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) came into being in 1954 as the final incarnation of all previous security agencies.

[Note: the badge above is a copy of a purportedly original OGPU brass honor badge. However, because of the near perfect enamel work without any hairline cracks or chips as is very common with nearly all enameled badges from before 1940 and a number of other details, this one is certainly a fake. In fact, I have neither seen one like this that I consider original nor, for that matter, have I encountered one in any reference book dealing with early Soviet State Security badges. From the first days of the Russian Revolution in 1917 until the late 1930s, many of the highest quality badges were made by hand from a single silversmith who left his/her unique "signature" stamp(s) on the reverse of the badge as seen below.] 

Photos by Robert S. Pandis

Photos (above and below right) by
Robert S. Pandis

On the left is an ID cover for a five-year anniversary badge of the Cheka-GPU as pictured above. Unfortunately, a photo of the text/document inside was unavailable from the CD "book" by Commander Robert S. Pandis  - Cheka: Distinguished Worker Awards of the Soviet Secret Police from which this, the previous two photos and the following two pictures were taken. However, the inner text and background design of the XV badge ID booklet below is likely a good indicator of how the V booklet's inner layout appeared.*

The XVth and the Vth Chekist anniversary badge ID booklet (the former pictured on the right) was awarded - along with the badge itself - to members of the OGPU, despite the markings on the lower ribbon of the badge that read "Cheka-GPU." Regardless, both covers are embossed in gold with an image of the badge they were presented with and the text: "USSR Statute" of the All-Union ("O") State Political Directorate (GPU). Inside, is another representation of the appropriate badge as a background for the text that explains what the badge is for and to whom it was given.

Photo by Robert S. Pandis

The inside of the award booklet for the 15th anniversary of the Cheka-GPU (1917-1932) above shows an image of the badge that was given along with the booklet which has the text "Honored Chekist" on either side of the drawing of the badge as well as "VChK" in the paper background on the left side and "GPU" on the right side. This particular document was awarded to V.R. Menzhinsky by the "All-Union" GPU. The awardee's name was simply typed in the space beneath the image of the badge just above the place (Moscow) and date (1931) that the booklet was printed.

The above ID document was issued in 1931 to an officer of the "PP" OGPU, or the полномочное представит - which means a plenipotentiary or "diplomatic agent" of the OGPU. The ID authorizes the holder to carry weapons and act with the full authority of the OGPU as an agent both within and outside the borders of the Soviet Union. This sort of document was carried by OGPU agents who literally had a "license to kill." Such documents are extremely rare for collectors to find and based on the size of the stamp used on each side of the ID, this one was very small (about a third the size of modern U.S. federal agent ID documents).

The partial photo above depicts an OGPU agent wearing the 10th anniversary of the OGPU badge with a "rosette" or (typically) a deep red velvet cloth cut to fit behind the badge to prevent any damage to the uniform itself. What is barely visible on the left is a child sitting on the knee of the officer. It was common practice at the time for both military and Chekist officers to have family portraits taken with the officer in full dress uniform. This example photo is from "slava1stclass" whose photos have appeared elsewhere on this site. The right side shows a closeup of the OGPU 10th anniversary badge with the red enamel flag, lower banner and star at the top. It is difficult to tell which of the gold, silver or bronze background type badges this was from the photo. Note: The man pictured is wearing the famous "Budyonovka" cap that was worn by many non-officer ranking soldiers before and during WWII.

An NKGB/MGB dress or "parade"

tunic from the post WWII era.

Photo by "Richie C" (Soviet Military Awards Page

Forum Member)

Regardless of their earlier reputation, the final versions of these agencies did not have nearly the same powers that their Cheka-GPU predecessors did - particularly when foreign and internal services (NKVD) were combined under Lavrenti Beria when even members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and government ministers lived in fear of him nearly as much as they did Stalin himself. Moreover, after Stalin died in 1953, Beria had his sights set on replacing him but was arrested by members of the faction supporting Nikita Krushchev as the new leader of the Soviet Union and subsequently executed. Once Beria's influence was essentially removed, attention was focused on the restructuring of the security services he had built up into organizations of terror. The title of "People's Commissariat" (or abbreviation "NK") had already been replaced with "Ministry" so that the NKVD became the MVD and the NKGB became the MGB. Though Beria sought to combine the two under the single department of the Ministry for Internal Affairs (MVD) with a branch designated for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence. Those who opposed him - which after the death of Stalin were numerous - not only maintained the separation, but also "demoted" the MGB to the status of "Committee" (or "комитет" in Russian) which resulted in the final name of KGB - subsequently requiring their leadership to report to the Central Committee of the Communist Party or State Duma rather than directly to whomever might be at the helm of the USSR at the time, as had been the case before.

Below is a photo of a group of OGPU personnel in 1924. The photo is cropped from a cardboard "frame" which lists the names of those pictured on the reverse (the entire ensemble is pictured below in smaller frames in the original cardboard "frame" in its current sepia colors).

Photos provided by Richie C

Finally, a "colorized" photo of a group of NKVD class graduates.

Photo provided by Richie C

This is literally a photograph of NKVD school graduates in field uniforms with the indicative symbol of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs - the oval shield with the hammer and sickle motif and the sword pointing downward through the back.



* Robert Pandis has since published a paper bound edition of the CD with much more information and many more excellent photos of awards and associated documents from the Soviet security services. He envisions another three editions in addition to the current Cheka: Soviet Secret Police Awards 1917-1995. For more information about the book and others he has authored, see

http://www.imperialhouseantiques.com/.

Under "Reconstruction"

Recently Published New Information About Soviet Security Services and the Judicial Branch Before WWII May Alter Some of the Chapters Already Posted Here

(This Will Certainly Slow the Progress of Presenting New Information Until Said Material Is Digested - the Vast Majority of Which Deals with Stalin's Death Grip Over the Military and His Irrational Fear of Spies, Particularly within the Ranks of the Red Army and the Public at Large)

WWII Counter-Espionage propaganda poster which reads: "Eradicate Spies and Saboteurs, [such as] Trotsky-Bukharin [the] Agents of Fascism!" Even the most elementary psychology acknowledges that power seized by means of subterfuge and violence will instill a need in the new leadership to continue to utilize secret political police while fearing the same.

I know it has been a while since I've posted something new, but I am in the midst of scouring over a variety of newly released resource materials (one book has not even been released to the public yet, but is supposed to make it to me in early January since I "pre-ordered" it) pertaining to Stalin and his abuse of every Soviet security service from the NKVD to the variously named foreign intelligence services and finally SMERSH - whose very existence was a state secret until shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union and whose actions were denied by many long after 1991.

Already, some of the new information is causing me to rethink some of the previously published materials in this website/web-book. I was hoping to move on to post-war security service tactics for suppressing dissent and preventing the influence of Western capitalist "Imperialism" from undermining the newly entrenched system of Soviet Communism. What the Bolsheviks had killed so many people to maintain was in jeopardy for the first time with Stalin at the helm of the Communist Party "Flag Ship" (the state security services) leading the rest of the fleet of frightened yet powerful ship captains - generals and admirals of the Soviet Red Army and Navy. These men managed to hold their ground against the Nazi "Bliztkreig" despite the efforts of Stalin to in fact become the commander and chief of the military.

As I sort out the new information, I will try to remember to add, if nothing else, some interesting photos pertaining to the Soviet security services.

For now, here are a few photos of some of the "egg" badges from the Cheka-GPU to the NKVD and finally the only one known to exist made for the briefly lived MGB (immediate predecessor of the KGB) housed in the KGB Museum in Moscow.

Photo from CD-ROM book, Cheka: Distinguished Worker Awards of the Soviet Secret Police by Robert S. Pandis. The above photo shows the faces of the 5th and 15th anniversary badges given to outstanding and/or high-ranking members of the GPU (State Political Directorate - "political police" of the time). These badges were made by silversmiths who were often carry-overs from Imperial Russia who were still making a living in metal working.

Pandis: OGPU was the name of the former Cheka in 1927. Their are three main types of this badge: two-piece silver and red enamel badge with (left) a gold profile of Felix Dzerzhinsky encircled in a wreath, (center) silver profile, and (right) single-piece solid bronze and enamel badge. Note the differences between the Cyrillic acronym lettering of "O.G.P.U." from the first issue and the last two. The second issue, silver badge had the widest banner from which the letters were raised.

Pandis made use of a popular OGPU "Gramota" award to an agent as the "cover" of his e-book (shown below):

Cover of the now rare but extremely important Robert S. Pandis e-book dealing with badges awarded to state security services of the early Soviet Union.

I will continue to post photos of award badges, documents and propaganda materials as I read though the new books I have acquired recently.

 Comments are always welcomed.

Examples of Four of the Most Common Military Awards Members of Soviet State Security Were Eligible For

I

For the most part, members of a paramilitary organization such as the NKVD and NKGB (OGPU – later the MGB and finally the KGB) were in a similar “gray area” as people who were in the Soviet diplomatic corps. At least periodically, they both answered directly to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union instead of the chief of the armed and naval forces.

The following are examples of awards and Orders that the NKVD and sometimes members of SMERSH were eligible to receive.

Note: all of the photos below were taken by me of orders and medals in my collection. Any other photos used will be indicated as such. Many of the best awards, flags and uniforms in my collection were once part of collections of very good friends and fellow collectors/historians including Paul J. Schmitt, Norm Braddock, Alexei Merezhko, families of original awardees, others who wish to remain anonymous, and many, many more whose knowledge far surpasses mine in their areas of expertise. I am now and always will be grateful to these trustworthy people who continue to find authentic "needles" in a proverbial "haystack" of counterfeit items made and sold purely for the purpose of turning a profit at the expense of history.

Early Medal for Bravery. Left-face of the medal;Right-reverse

(serial #106366). The screw plate used to fix the medal to a

uniform may not be original to this medal. The plate has the

Russian word Monetniy Dvor or simply "mint." The medal is

made of silver with enamel filling the Russian words For

Bravery and the initials for the USSR. Photos made possible
by Norm Braddock.

Since NKVD agents tended to come from within the ranks of the military, they usually had already been awarded one or more medals by that point. The two most common medals awarded were the Order of Bravery and the Medal for Combat Service. The first types of both of these medals started out with 4-sided screw post suspensions before later, under new regulations, the five-sided ones that all medals and many orders hung from.

Early four-sided suspension Combat Service Medal which was

typically awarded to non-officer servicemen and women as

well as NKVD and SMERSH troops. This medal is also made

from silver with enamel filling the Cyrillic letters "CCCP"

which stood for USSR in Russian. Photos made possible by
Norm Braddock.

The Bolsheviks had done away with all orders and medals when they initially assumed power because they thought that such decorations furthered the imperial notion of class separation. However, it was not very long before a few awards were instituted. The first order to be issued nationally was the Order of the Red Banner. For many years, this was the highest award one could be given either for combat merits or lengthy and exemplary service in the Red Army. Eventually, a specific set of “irreproachable service” medals were established and the awarding of orders for long service was abolished. The Order of the Red Banner was given as a companion award to anyone receiving the Order of Lenin.


Originally, the Order of the Red Banner was a “screw back” award with a central screw post that had a large silver screw plate or “nut” to hold the order in place on the uniform. During WWII, the order was transformed to hang from a five-sided suspension that pinned to the uniform rather than punched a hole through it.

The Order of the Red Banner was originally a "screw back" award, but was converted to be held by a five-sided suspension (above). The ubiquitous phrase of the Soviet era was written in the red flag: "Workers of the World Unite!" as well as the Cyrillic initials for USSR across the lower section of the obverse. The order was made from silver with dramatic red enamel work behind any text with gold and silver plating on specific parts for contrast of iconic symbols of the Bolshevik Revolution such as the hammer, plough and bayonet. The reverse of this particular example shows the words Monetniy Dvor or simply "mint" and the hand-engraved serial number 160410. Many of these orders issued in the 100,000 range were for long service. As soldiers, NKVD and SMERSH troops were eligible recipients of the order.

Another order that state security troops were eligible for during WWII and later in the Korean War, Vietnam War and the Afghanistan War as well as during peacetime was the Order of the Red Star (ORS). The order went through a number of changes though it remained a screw back until the end of the Soviet Union. The first of these orders issued were worn with a red silk “rosette” to make it “pop out” on the uniform. Later, the cloth backing was abandoned and the ORS was worn directly on the uniform. Unlike the previous order and medals, this one was worn on the wearer's right breast (see photos below).

An Order of the Red Star with a serial number in the 1.3 million range which would put the awarding of this ORS in approximately 1944-45. Since over 4 million were issued by 1991 - the vast majority of which were for conduct prior to 1950 - this number is not considered very high by collectors. The previous/original owner clearly polished the silver very heavily since the natural tarnish is very light.

This ORS has a serial number over the 2.1 million mark, yet the natural patina of the silver is more evident. Also, this particular type was somewhat wider in the arms of the star and the tips of each arm were slightly rounded unlike the points on the ORS in the first picture. Nearly all Orders of the Red Star with serial numbers above 2.1 million were issued in 1945, according to extrapolation of information in Paul J. Schmitt's book Echoes of War: Researching Soviet Military Decorations.* The serial number is also hand engraved again though in a much larger script. 

A controversial and relatively rare item is the duplicate or dublikat (Russian - дубликат) which was made for recipients of a medal or order who for an acceptable "official" reason had lost the original. On the example above, a Cyrillic "Д" was stamped below the serial number. The original number was sanded off most likely at the mint and was then given a new and in this case, stamped, serial number. Due to this reprocessing, there is no way to tell what the original serial number was though serious collectors could give a safe estimate based on the order's shape, style and weight - all of this type of information is cataloged in numerous sources, but one of the most respected and commonly used is Ордена и медали СССР (Orders and Medals of the USSR) whose web address is http://mondvor.narod.ru/. The controversy comes from debates among collectors as to how reliable a duplicate order or medal is when so many of these Soviet awards are counterfeited with extreme skill and precision.

**

The portrait above is of NKVD General V.M. Blokhin who is wearing two Orders of the Red Banner on his left breast and an Order of the Red Star on his right breast just above the two shield and sword NKVD fifth and tenth anniversary badges. He also wears an Order of the Red Banner of Labor and Order of the Badge of Honor (last two on top row, right), which are normally non-military awards that security service personnel were also eligible to be given. These and other awards available to Cheka-KGB agents will be discussed in future chapters. One thing that should be mentioned about General Blokhin is that he was a viscious man who was responsible for some of the horrors that made the NKVD under Stalin such an infamous organization. Military decorations do not make a better man or woman. 

*Schmitt, Paul J. Echoes of War: Researching Soviet Military Decorations; Historical Research L.L.C., Lorton, West Virginia, 2006.

** Photo courtesy of "slava1stclass" (see note about him in previous chapter).

Photos of Early Soviet State Security Service Personnel

Part 1: The Beginnings

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Above is a grainy photo from 1921 of the members of the Cheka Presidium which included (from left) Yakov Peters, Jozef Unszlicht, A. Ya Belensky, the infamous Felix Dzerzhinsky and Vyacheslav Menzhinsky. As can be seen by the names, not everyone was of strict Russian origin. Dzerzhinsky, himself, was of Polish noble origin. Many people were welcomed by the Bolsheviks in the first couple decades after the October Revolution so long as they were in idealistic agreement with the new Soviet regime. There were many who came from what is now called the UK, the US and numerous countries bordering the Soviet Union. At the very outset of the construction of the Cheka and its agents, there was no specific uniform and many of the new recruits simply wore black tunics to emulate the ones almost always worn by Dzerzhinsky himself (see photo above). There are rumors that the Checkists in 1917 wore more or less what they pleased with an armband - if they wanted to be identified - while design decisions and manufacturing of a more universal uniform were being carried out.


[Note: Many of the following photos were contributed by a very active and knowledgeable member of the Soviet Military Awards Page Forum: http://soviet-awards.com/forum/ (and in the column on the right side of this page. This is an invaluable forum filled with an enormous amount of information and rare photographs. In order to see the photos so many of the members are talking about, registration is required - which is free of charge). This member goes by the moniker "slava1stclass" which are the transliterated words for the Order of Glory, 1st class and was one of the highest awards given to the rank and file soldiers. Officers were ineligible to receive any of the three classes of this award which were given mostly during WWII. He has been kind enough to lend his photos anonymously and I extend my gratitude.]


If a photo did not come from him, it will be noted as such.

The above officer is wearing, besides the Cheka fifth ("V") badge, an early form of the Order of the Red Banner (the first award to be created by the Soviets after they had discontinued the practice of awards all together because some thought it hearkened too much back to Imperialist Russia's class system in which heavily decorated officers were among the higher echelons of power and influence in the aristocratic society even though they might not be of noble birth. Typically, however, no one rose to the highest ranks of the Tsarist military unless they had exceptional skills on the battlefield or were born among the wealthy and/or nobility.

The Cheka officer above is also wearing an award that is considered by most collectors to be one of the rarest and most difficult to find - the so-called "Tractor Lenin." The design only existed a few years and was given its nickname because a tractor is displayed prominently in the background of the obverse of the order. All later models were gold with elaborate enamel work whereas this one was made from silver with a small amount of gold plating and enamel. This, together with the 5-year Cheka anniversary badge dates the photo as no earlier than 1922. It is likely he was awarded the Order of Lenin and Order of the Red Banner (which at the time were presented together) as an award for efforts in the Russian Civil War.


It was very common for servicemen and women of all branches - military and security services - to have their photos taken in full dress uniform, usually after a graduation, promotion or in honor of some occasion or even for their official personnel file. The organization calling for or taking the picture would typically write who the photo was of, his or her rank and was generally signed and/or stamped by the same organization. 

Disclaimer: I do not know the person's name, nor to whom this picture might belong - it was sent anonymously in an email with a simple typed note asking if I could use this photo for this website. So if anyone knows anything about the current owner of the actual photograph and either wants it removed or given credit, simply show me the reverse in context (such as near a current date on a newspaper) and give contact information and the deal will - whichever - be done.

In the photo above, a young OGPU officer leans to one side for his photo as a member from Azerbaijan SSR. Though this was taken likely prewar, notice the unique sleeve, rather than what would be come the international standard use of shoulder boards as rank insignia.


One of the most notable aspects of the uniform is the unusual, almost corduroy-looking, material it seems to be made from, but this could be simply a number of things including lighting and stitching. The other remarkable thing about the uniform is the enormity of the buttons on the jacket. Also worth noting is the cloth belt. Regulation Red Army belts were leather with a large rectangular single- or double-tong buckle with regular waist belts and some with over-the-shoulder straps. Another variety came along a bit later and were buckles that were more square and had the hammer, sickle and star with "rays" motif but it was usually reserved for officers in all army belts. (See photos below for examples.) 

The belt above is a variation of the previous photo but it is unclear as to what the country of origin it is - whether USSR, a republic or simply another East European country on the side of the Soviet Union during The Great Patriotic War. The point is that it is made identically to the definitely Soviet version. There is a brass stud that comes up from the lower layer of the belt and pushes through the top layer to hold it in place. This design was eventually done away with all together.
  
Early Chekist-GPU uniforms varied from region to region and often differed from the All-Union Chekist official versions based on a number of reasons from regional customs to distance from Moscow which would cause regulation uniforms to take longer to reach Far-Eastern republics and some areas simply kept the style they had before for preference.

Ultimately, any effective political police officer would never appear in public wearing any uniform save the standard army clothing. The use of Royal Blue (sometimes referred to as "corn silk blue") as a symbolic color of the security services did not come into regular, widespread use until the late 1920s - early 1930s.   

Brief Look at NKVD and MGB "Internal Army" Flags

A component of the security services of the Soviet Union that most outside observers might not take serious note of is the ever-present armed and trained special operations military units that the each version of the Cheka-KGB as well as the NKVD-MVD had at its disposal. The original concept of these “internal armies” or Внутренние войска in Russian (“VV” abbreviated in English), was to be the heaviest hand in the body of the special services.

A field banner for the 57[th] Rifle Division of the VV
NKVD USSR. This one was likely used right after WWII
according to what information is available regarding
this division. Theyspecialized in fighting armed groups
of counterrevolutionaries particularly in Ukraine. 

Initially, the units were created to enforce the political policies of the Moscow Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and, of course the man who was general secretary of this committee – a title first held by Stalin. Ironically, he was the same person who so greatly abused these troops that continued to exist long after WWII and Stalin’s death in 1953, when the Khrushchev-era “de-stalinization” of the country and the organizations such as the NKVD-MVD and Cheka-KGB began. In fact, these same "VV" troops from the KGB with names such as Alpha Group, Zenith, and Vymple (Russian for "banner" which was the airborne "group") were the vanguard in the assaults in 1979 on the Tajbeg Palace near Kabul that started the Soviet war with Afghanistan. The initial attack organized by the KGB was called Storm 333 in Russian and resulted in not only the taking of the government, but a revolutionary war that lasted nearly 10 years.  Even more ironic is the fact that had the Western governments not been so anti-Soviet and backed the USSR instead of the Afghani rebels, Osama Bin Laden and other US-trained militants would most likely never have come to power and the terrorists known as the Taliban would not exist. Of course this is is speculation about what should have and/or could have been.

The reverse of the above VV NKVD flag.

The VV NKVD troops were used by Stalin to carry out all sorts of highly controversial and very unpleasant actions before, during and after WWII, in part during the “Great Terror” of the 1930s and later post-war divisions were used to suppress anti-Soviet rebel groups throughout Ukraine and newly acquired Baltic States. The Organization for Ukrainian Nationalists was the most renowned and persistent of the rebel groups (see previous chapter dealing with OUN flag and the organization). The suppression took the roles of direct attack, capture and executions or mass deportation by train of whole ethnic populations to desolate regions in Siberia, or wholesale murder of civilians in small towns and villages suspected of collaborating with anti-Soviet rebels.

A closeup of the hand-sewn numbers and letters, which consist of several rows of stitching side by side and which simply says the name of the rifle division as explained in the previous photo. It is also easy to see the work of hands on the central star. What is interesting about this flag is that it does not have the ubiquitous "Workers of the Country [sometimes translated as "World] Unite" even though there is plenty of room at the top of the front of the flag. 

The text of the reverse simply says "For Our Soviet
Motherland" together with the hammer and sickle
symbol of the original revolution.

After the war, the foreign intelligence service, the OGPU (All-Union State Political Directorate) which had been subordinated by the NKVD, was once again an independent agency – “Ministry of State Security,” or MGB. They too had a number of “VV” units who also participated in counter-intelligence and espionage elimination of such elements among the counterrevolutionaries.

An award flag for the 88[th] Rifle Regiment of the VV
MGB of the USSR with the slogan "For Our Soviet
Motherland" sewn in across the top.

As the KGB inherited this problem from its predecessor during the Khrushchev era, so it was ordered to publicly back off the hunt and pursuit of rebels. However, secretly, the KGB created new forms of VV units with the most famous called Vympel, Zenith, and Alpha. Each of these special operations units had specific purposes including emergency response teams and by the 1970s, a counter- terrorism unit. Nonetheless, the topic of the KGB and clandestine operations after its inception will be discussed in more detail later.

The reverse of the MGB flag with a more standard style state seal and the other, more famous slogan: "Workers of the Country [World] Unite!"

Like the NKVD flag above, the text was created by rows of stitching sewn closely together. An all-sewn rendition of Stalin and Lenin on silk is inside the octagon in the center of the flag.

A closeup of the state seal sewn into the reverse of the MGB flag with 16 republics represented by individual banners or "ribbons" each with "Workers of the World [Country], Unite!" in each of the constituent native languages of the republics. This version of the state seal only existed from 1946-1956 until the country was re-divided into the final 15 republics that existed until the union was dissolved in 1990.

Images of an Emerging New World II

Here are a few more propaganda posters that were used to keep the spirits and patriotism of the Soviet citizens high during WWII (Great Patriotic War), much like the US had plastered in areas of high foot traffic such as outside cinemas, concert halls and metro stations.

"Gossip[ers] - A great prize for the enemy"
One of many such posters warning the
public to watch what they say because
they never know who might be listening.
(Note the surreptitious eavesdropping
man behind the red-nosed, drunken speaker
on the phone.) Ironically, regularly listening
in on Sovietcitizens' - and especially foreign
tourists' and dignitaries' telephone
conversations would become standard practice
for the KGB during the Cold War years - a 
practice still used by the FSB today in the
Russian Federation where telephone operators
 are encouraged and rewarded for reporting
"suspicious" conversations they happen to be
listening in on during the course of their jobs.

Another propaganda poster designed to bolster the morale of the citizens and soldiers. In this case, the medal for "The Defense of Leningrad"
is shown. This medal, like other "campaign medals" produced to honor those who helped defend and/or defeat invading German armies was awarded to soldiers,naval personnel,
civilians and members of thearmed troops of the NKVD (internal security service during
The Great Patriotic War).