Goldfinger

The story of Goldfinger takes place in the late 1950s. Since Fleming wrote this story, the names of some countries and their types of governments have changed.
In October 1, 1917, a revolution broke out in Russia, and a communist government came to power. The communists believed that everyone in their country should have a share in everything—money, power, and land. Russia joined with other countries it controlled to form the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), with Moscow as its capital.
Since 1928, Joseph Stalin had been the leader of the Soviet Union, and for over 25 years he had absolute power over the Russian people. In 1954, he ordered the creation of a special government department. This department was a secret police force called the KGB. KGB officers gathered information about the Soviet Union’s enemies. The KGB ensured that the country and its people were safe. Sometimes, KGB members would secretly investigate the people of the Soviet Union. They would ensure that no one was breaking the laws or speaking out against the regime. SMERSH was part of the KGB. The word “SMERSH” comes from the Russian word “Smeyt Shpyunam,” meaning “death to spies.” The people were so afraid of SMERSH that no one would even speak its name.