Committee for State Security/KGB
IV Soviet Occupation
A repressive institution (operating from 10 April 1954 to 24 August 1991), which performed the functions of the political police aimed at ensuring the totalitarian power of the Communist Party of Latvia (CPL), as well as the existence and stability of the Soviet political, economic and social system in Latvia.
KGB agents being referred to as ‘chekists’ comes from the Russian acronym ВЧК (VChK) for the KGB’s predecessor, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage (Russian: Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия по борьбе с контрреволюцией и саботажем), which operated from 1917 to 1922.
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Exhibition in the KGB Building "History of KGB Operations in Latvia"
The former USSR State Security Committee (commonly known as Cheka) building is open for visitors. Here chekists imprisoned, interrogated and murdered Latvian citizens who were considered opponents by the occupation regime. There is also an exhibit from the Latvian Occupation Museum on the activities of Cheka in Latvia. Guided tours of the prison cells, corridors, basement and courtyard are available. The house was built in 1911 and it is one of the most beautiful buildings in Riga. Called the ‘Corner House’ by the people, it was the scariest symbol of the Soviet occupation regime in Latvia, and also one of the pillars of power of the USSR. Cheka operated from the Corner House during the occupation from 1940 to 1941 and then again from 1945 to...
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About the Corner House
The narrator describes the first impressions of getting to the Corner House. Memories reveal the harsh living conditions of the prisoners.