Secret police

For the film, see Secret Police (film).
Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989.[1] Both organizations used similar forms of repression.[2]

Secret police (or political police)[3] are police, intelligence, or security agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, ideological, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.[4] They protect the political power of a dictator or regime and often operate outside the law to repress dissidents and weaken political opposition, frequently using violence.[5] They may enjoy legal sanction to hold and charge suspects without ever identifying their organization.

  1. ^ Norman, Greg (12 December 2018). "Vladimir Putin's East Germany Stasi secret police ID card uncovered in archives". Fox News. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  2. ^ Guriev, Sergei; Treisman, Daniel (4 April 2023). Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 49–51. ISBN 978-0691224473.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Berman, Ilan; Waller, J. Michael (2006). "Introduction: The Centrality of the Secret Police". Dismantling Tyranny: Transitioning Beyond Totalitarian Regimes. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. xv.
  4. ^ Juan José Linz, Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes (Lynne Rienner, 2000), p. 65.
  5. ^ "Secret police". Cambridge Dictionary.