DZERZHINSKY, FELIX EDMUNDOVICH (1877 1926), Russian politician of Polish descent, was born at Vilna. He joined the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania in 1895, and two years later was arrested and banished to Siberia for political agitation. In 1899 he escaped, was rearrested in the following year and in 1902 again escaped. After he had taken part in the revolution of 1905 there followed further years of banishment until 1912, when he returned to Warsaw, was arrested again and sentenced to nine years hard labour. After the revolution of March 1917, he was released and became a member of the mili tary revolutionary committee which organized the Bolshevik revolution. In Dec. 1917 he organized and became chairman of the Cheka, or secret police, afterwards the Ogpu. He was ap pointed commissar of the home department in 1919. The organiza tion of the Cheka was found to be so complete that it was possible to dispense with Dzerzhinsky's supervision and in 1921 he was transferred to the commissariat of transport, where