The Bolsheviks: Architects of Revolution
The Great Split: Bolsheviks vs. Mensheviks
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) was founded to represent the working class and overthrow the Tsar. However, in 1903, at its Second Party Congress, a major split occurred over a seemingly minor issue: membership rules. Lenin proposed a strict definition requiring members to be professional revolutionaries fully integrated into party organizations. His opponent, Julius Martov, favored a broader definition that included sympathizers.
When Lenin's formulation narrowly won a vote, his faction became known as the "Bolsheviks" (from the Russian word for "majority"), while Martov's group became the "Mensheviks" (the "minority"). This split was about much more than membership; it reflected two opposing visions for revolution. The Mensheviks believed Russia must first undergo a long period of capitalist development and bourgeois democracy before a socialist revolution could be possible. They envisioned a mass workers' party. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, argued for a disciplined, centralized "vanguard party" of dedicated revolutionaries who would lead the workers to seize power directly, even in a largely agrarian society.
| Aspect | Bolsheviks | Mensheviks |
|---|---|---|
| Core Idea | A small, disciplined vanguard party leads the revolution. | A broad, mass-based workers' party. |
| Path to Socialism | Direct seizure of power (proletarian revolution). | Two-stage process: first bourgeois democracy, then socialism. |
| Allies | Peasants and soldiers, led by the working class vanguard. | The liberal bourgeoisie and the working class. |
| Key Leader | Vladimir Lenin | Julius Martov |
| Outcome in 1917 | Seized power in the October Revolution. | Participated in the Provisional Government[3] but lost influence. |
Lenin's Formula for Revolution
Lenin was not just a leader; he was the chief strategist and theorist of Bolshevism. He developed key ideas that became the playbook for the seizure of power. In his pamphlet What Is To Be Done? (1902), he argued that the working class, on its own, could only develop "trade union consciousness"—the desire for better wages and conditions. To achieve revolutionary socialist consciousness, ideas must be brought "from outside" by a dedicated vanguard party. This justified the need for a tightly knit, hierarchical organization of professional revolutionaries.
Failed Revolution: $D + W \rightarrow$ Slow change, or bourgeois rule.
Successful Revolution (Bolshevik Model): $D + W + V \rightarrow$ Rapid seizure of power ($P$).
This can be simplified as: $D + W \xrightarrow{V} P$
Another pivotal concept was Lenin's analysis of imperialism. In Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism (1917), he argued that World War I was a war between imperialist powers fighting over colonies and resources. He called this war a "capitalist slaughter" and urged workers and soldiers to turn the "imperialist war into a civil war" against their own rulers. This powerful, anti-war message became a massive source of support for the Bolsheviks in 1917.
A Year of Upheaval: From February to October 1917
The Bolsheviks' chance came during the chaos of World War I. In February 1917 (according to the old Russian calendar), mass protests and army mutinies forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate. A Provisional Government, composed of liberals and moderate socialists (including Mensheviks), was established. Simultaneously, workers' and soldiers' councils, called Soviets, sprang up across the country, creating a situation of "dual power."
Initially, the Bolsheviks were a minor force in the Soviets. Everything changed when Lenin returned from exile in April. He issued his April Theses, demanding: "No support for the Provisional Government!" "All power to the Soviets!" "Peace, Land, and Bread!" These simple, radical slogans addressed the deepest desires of the population: an end to the war, land for peasants, and food for the cities. The Bolsheviks' consistent opposition to the war and the failing government made them increasingly popular.
After a failed coup attempt by a general in August, which the Bolsheviks helped to defeat, their popularity soared. By September, they had gained majorities in the key Soviets of Petrograd and Moscow. Lenin now argued the time was ripe for an armed uprising. On the night of October 24-25, 1917, Bolshevik Red Guards and loyal military units swiftly seized key points in Petrograd—telegraph offices, railway stations, and bridges. They stormed the Winter Palace, the seat of the Provisional Government, which fell with almost no bloodshed. Power was transferred to the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, where the Bolsheviks and their allies, the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, held a majority.
The Revolution in Practice: Slogans Turned into Policy
Seizing power was one thing; holding and using it was another. The Bolsheviks immediately began to implement their program, demonstrating the practical application of their ideology. The day after the takeover, the Congress of Soviets passed two landmark decrees:
- The Decree on Peace: Proposed an immediate withdrawal from World War I, appealing to all warring nations for a just peace "without annexations and indemnities." This led to the harsh Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in 1918, which ceded vast territory but gave the Bolsheviks vital breathing space.
- The Decree on Land: This abolished private ownership of land. Land from the nobility, the church, and the state was to be distributed among the peasantry. This was a brilliant tactical move—it adopted the program of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, the peasant party, winning massive rural support while undercutting their rivals.
The Bolsheviks also established a new government called the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom), with Lenin as its chairman. They banned opposition newspapers, began to arrest political opponents, and in December 1917, formed the Cheka[4], the secret police to combat "counter-revolution." This marked the beginning of one-party rule.
A simple example helps illustrate their strategy: Imagine a school where the student council (the Provisional Government) is arguing about how to fix the broken cafeteria, while most students are hungry and angry. A small, well-organized club (the Bolsheviks) ignores the student council debate. Instead, they go directly to the students, promising "Food Now!" and organize a vote to take over the cafeteria management themselves. They win the vote because they address the immediate need. Once in charge, they set new rules, appoint their own managers, and exclude other clubs from decision-making to ensure their plan is followed. This mirrors the Bolsheviks' focus on direct action, popular demands, and centralized control.
The Aftermath: Civil War and the Birth of the Soviet State
The Bolshevik seizure of power was not universally accepted. From 1918 to 1921, a brutal civil war raged between the Bolshevik Red Army and the loosely allied "Whites" (monarchists, liberals, moderate socialists, and nationalist groups). Foreign powers, including the United States, Britain, France, and Japan, intervened on the side of the Whites. This "War Communism" period saw the Bolsheviks centralize the economy, requisition grain from peasants, and intensify political repression.
The Civil War solidified key Bolshevik traits: extreme centralization, the use of terror as a political tool, and the belief that they were surrounded by enemies. By 1922, they had won, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formally established. The Bolshevik Party was renamed the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Their revolutionary model—a vanguard party leading a violent overthrow of the state—became an inspiration and a template for communist movements around the world for decades to come.
A: They were not universally popular, but they were the most popular and disciplined party among the urban working class and soldiers in key cities like Petrograd and Moscow by October 1917. They won majorities in the key Soviets because their slogans ("Peace, Land, Bread") resonated powerfully with a war-weary, hungry population. Their support was a specific, concentrated majority in the centers of power, not necessarily a majority of the entire Russian population.
A: The February Revolution (March 1917 by modern calendars) was a spontaneous, mass uprising that overthrew the Tsar and established the democratic Provisional Government. The October Revolution (November 1917) was a planned, armed insurrection led by the Bolshevik Party that overthrew that Provisional Government. The first created a short-lived democracy; the second established a communist one-party state.
A: The Bolsheviks believed in a specific form of "proletarian democracy" represented by the Soviets (workers' councils), which they saw as more direct and genuine than "bourgeois parliamentary democracy." However, they rejected multi-party parliamentary democracy. After seizing power, they suppressed other socialist parties (Mensheviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries) and banned factions within their own party, establishing a single-party dictatorship. They argued this was necessary to defend the revolution during the Civil War, but it became a permanent feature of the Soviet state.
Footnote
[1] RSDLP (Russian Social Democratic Labour Party): The Marxist political party founded in 1898 that aimed to overthrow the Tsarist autocracy and establish a socialist society. It split into Bolshevik and Menshevik factions in 1903.
[2] October Revolution: Also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, it refers to the armed insurrection on October 25-26, 1917 (Old Style calendar), which overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and brought the Bolsheviks to power.
[3] Provisional Government: The temporary government that ruled Russia after the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917, until it was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in October.
[4] Cheka: An acronym for the "All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage." It was the first Soviet state security organization, a secret police force established in December 1917.