Gleb Ivanovich Bokii ( Глеб Иванович Бокий , 1879 – 1937 ) was an ethnic Ukrainian Communist political activist and revolutionary in the Russian Empire . Following the October Revolution of 1917 , Bokii became a leading member of the Cheka , the Soviet secret police . From 1921 through 1934 , Bokii ( alternative transliteration , Boky ) headed the " special department " of the Soviet secret police apparatus , believed to have been in charge of the Soviet Union 's concentration camp system . He remained a top level functionary in the secret police apparatus until his sudden arrest in May 1937 as part of the Great Terror . Following an extended investigation , Bokii was given a summary trial and executed in November of that same year . In 1956 , Bokii was posthumously rehabilitated by Soviet authorities
Great Terror
Great Purge
Gleb Bokii