NKVD

N1K5V4D2

proper noun

The People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs — the Soviet interior ministry known for its secret police, forerunner of the KGB.

UncommonScrabble 12

Meanings

proper noun

alternative N.K.V.D.

  1. The People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs — the Soviet interior ministry known for its secret police, forerunner of the KGB.
    1 more example

    On the defensive side, Stalin had made equally thorough preparations. Lenin’s personal guard consisted of two men, later increased to four after the attempt on his life by Fanny Kaplan. Stalin’s was several thousand strong, and the NKVD in addition kept other units at a state of readiness. The road to his country dacha, some twenty miles away, was guarded by over 3,000 agents, with cars, telephone connections, etc. When Stalin was actually en route, the road was virtually under martial law.

    1968, Robert Conquest, The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties, Macmillan Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, pages 546–547

Origin

  1. RussianНКВД
  2. EnglishNKVD

Borrowed from Russian НКВД (NKVD), through phonetic spelling of Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних де́л (Naródnyj komissariát vnútrennix dél) and the use of acronym.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French NKVD
  • NKVDSoviet NKVD
Polish NKWD
  • NKWDSoviet NKVD
Russian НКВД
  • НКВД (NKVD)Soviet NKVD
Ukrainian НКВС, Народний комісаріат внутрішніх справ
  • НКВС (NKVS)Soviet NKVD
  • Народний комісаріат внутрішніх справ (Narodnyj komisariat vnutrišnix sprav)Soviet NKVD
Yiddish ענקאַוועדע
  • ענקאַוועדע (enkavede)Soviet NKVD
Cite this entry
APA

NKVD. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/NKVD

MLA

“NKVD.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/NKVD. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “NKVD,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/NKVD.

Source: NKVD on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.