Bolshevik

A Bolshevik ("??????????", derived from a Russian word loosely translated as "majority") was a member of a faction of Bolsheviks of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP), a Marxist political party. Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin seized power in Russia in 1917, a world-historical event known as the October Revolution.

Related Topics:
Russian - Russian Social Democratic Labor Party - Marxist - Political party - Vladimir Lenin - Russia - 1917 - October Revolution

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The other faction of the RSDLP was known as the Mensheviks, derived from "minority". The split into two factions occurred at the Second Party Congress in 1903. After the split, the Bolshevik party was designated as RSDLP(b) (Russian: ?????(?)), where "b" stands for "Bolsheviks".

Related Topics:
Menshevik - Party Congress - 1903

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Shortly after the Bolsheviks seized power during the Russian Revolution of 1917, they changed their name to the All-Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1918 and were generally known as the Communist Party after that point. However, it was not until 1952 that the party formally dropped the word Bolshevik from its name. (See Congress of the CPSU article for the timeline of name changes.)

Related Topics:
Russian Revolution of 1917 - 1918 - Communist Party - 1952 - Congress of the CPSU

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The word "Bolshevik" is sometimes used as a synonym of Communist. It was often used by right-wingers outside the Soviet Union as a derogatory term for left-wingers, not all of whom were necessarily Communists. The Bolshevik political platform has often been referred to as Bolshevism.

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