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The Russian Civil War gave rise to the organization and cause responsible for the Red Terror.
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The Cheka - чрезвыча́йная коми́ссия chrezvychaynaya komissiya, Emergency Committee - was founded in 1917 as the first Soviet internal security agency and was responsible for most of the crimes committed.
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The document known as "Lenin's Hanging Order" in the Library of Congress is a sent to several Bolshevik leaders detailing how to repress various counter revolutionary farmers. In it, he says to hang at least 100 known wealthy men very publicly for hundreds of miles around.
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Assassination attempts were made on both the head of the Cheka, Moisei Uritsky, and Vladimir Lenin. Lenin survived to order the first Terror.
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On 5 September, 1918, the Cheka declares the Red Terror publicly, following a decree that "anyone who dares to spread the slightest rumor against the Soviet regime will be arrested immediately and sent to concentration camp".
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After a mere two months, an estimated 10-15,000 White soldiers, suspected counter-revolutionaries, and "kulaks" were reported summarily executed in the Cheka's newsletter. Many were simply civilians suspected of disagreeing. The man pictured was the current administrator of the Cheka, Gleb Bokii.
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The Gulags were essentially concentration and labour camps for both political prisoners and simple criminals. They were known for their harshness. The first were created in 1920.
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After being promised amnesty for surrender, hundreds of thousands of White Army soldiers surrender to Bolshevik forces. After approval of several leaders, including Vladimir Lenin, they are all summarily executed.
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After 1922 and the Civil War, the Cheka underwent major organizational changes and became the organization known as the NKVD, meaning People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs. The NKVD would continue to exist until the end of the USSR. It also murdered hundreds of thousands of people.
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The Terror lasted more or less until the end of the Civil War. However, Gulags, mass arrests, kangaroo courts, and random disappearances would continue for most of the USSR's existence. The deplorable acts of Lenin would be overshadowed by those of his successor, Stalin.
