About the book: 2024 / After coming to power in the wake of the revolutionary upheavals of 1917, the Bolsheviks were faced with the problem of providing political control and loyalty. How did they manage to impose totalitarian principles of governance on society over the course of a decade, suppress political opposition, the sprouts of civil society and, in general, any manifestations of discontent? How was this control regime ensured? What made it unique? Vladlen Izmozik in his book explores the formation of the system of political control in the USSR in 1917–1928, considering it as a complex phenomenon. Based on archival materials, the author, on the one hand, demonstrates how secret information was dosed at different levels, creating interdependence between the top political leadership and security agencies, and on the other hand, reveals the contradictory sentiments of Russian society in the 1920s, dissatisfied with the results of the work of the new government and at the same time passive, desiring stability and ready to adapt to the prevailing historical realities. Vladlen Izmozik - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor at the St. Petersburg State University of Telecommunications. prof. M. A. Bonch-Bruevich.