SMERSH (Russian: СМЕРШ, acronym of СМЕРть Шпионам, SMERt' SHpionam; "Death to spies") was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin. The pretext for its creation was to subvert the attempts by German forces to infiltrate the Red Army, especially after the Third Battle of Kharkov, which inflicted staggering losses on the Russians during World War II. The organization was officially in existence until March or April 1946, when its duties were transferred back to NKGB.The head of the agency throughout its existence was Viktor Abakumov, who rose to become Minister of State Security in the postwar years.(wikipedia)