State Political Directorate

State Political Directorate
(GPU pri NKVD RSFSR)
Agency overview
FormedFebruary 6, 1922; 102 years ago (February 6, 1922)
Preceding agency
DissolvedNovember 15, 1923; 100 years ago (November 15, 1923)
Superseding agency
TypeSecret police
HeadquartersLubyanka Square, Moscow
Agency executive
Parent agencyNKVD

The State Political Directorate (Russian: Государственное политическое управление, romanized: Gosudarstvennoye politicheskoye upravleniye), abbreviated as GPU (Russian: ГПУ), was the secret police of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from February 1922 to November 1923. It was the immediate successor of the Cheka, and was replaced by the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU).