The Soviet government established local Extraordinary Commissions (Cheka) to combat counterrevolution and sabotage in the territories they occupied. Immediately after the occupation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the same process began in our country, and on 29 April 1920, the Azerbaijani Extraordinary Commission (Azerbaijani Cheka) was established. Since the entity initially operated jointly with the Special Department of the 11th Red Army due to staffing and technical shortcomings, Semyon Andreyevich Pankratov headed the Azerbaijani Cheka along with the Special Department of the 11th Army. As Moscow's plenipotentiary representative, he had the power to intervene in every case in the republic and even issue a death sentence without investigation. Pankratov abused his power and ordered mass arrests, executions and lootings without the consent of the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan. The patriotic members of the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan made every effort to establish the Azerbaijani Cheka as an independent special service and to put an end to the arbitrariness of the Pankratovs, Mirzoyans and Sarkisyans. At a meeting of the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan on 14 May 1920, Eyyub Khanbudagov was appointed chairman of the Extraordinary Commission and Pankratov was appointed deputy chairman of the Extraordinary Commission. Thus, the Azerbaijani Extraordinary Commission was separated from the Special Department of the 11th Red Army on 18 May 1920 and started operating independently. In fact, this independence had a formal nature, because the Special Department of the 11th Red Army, whose powers were increasing, could interfere in the work of the Extraordinary Commission at any time. 

 As a result of the reforms carried out in Azerbaijani Cheka in 1921, the following departments began to operate in the entity from May of that year: 

1. General department. The department included the finance, commandant's, economic, special purpose, and medical units; 

2. Secret operations department. The department consisted of operations, information, registration units and investigators. 

3. Administrative-organizational department. The department consisted of administrative, organizational and instructional units. 

4. Special department. The department consisted of operations, information, registration units and investigators. 

Shortly after the structural units were determined, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan approved the Statute of the Extraordinary Commission of the Azerbaijan SSR on 21 June 1921. According to this Statute, Azerbaijani Cheka became the central body in the fight against counterrevolution, sabotage, trafficking, banditry and abuse of office and was placed under the jurisdiction of the Council of People's Commissars of Azerbaijan. 

There were also extraordinary troikas in the Azerbaijani Cheka. They were able to make decisions and carry out executions without any sanction.