We explain what the Bolsheviks and Mensheviques were and who their leaders were. In addition, what were their characteristics and ideologies.
What were the Bolsheviks and Mensheviques?
The Bolsheviks and Mensheviques were Two political factions that disputed the path that took the Russian revolution in 1917. Both factions belonged to the Social Democratic Workers Party of Russia (POSDR) and were of socialist affiliation.
They were part of the protests and strikes against the government of Tsar Nicolás IIwhich began in the so -called 1905 revolution and culminated in the abdication of the Tsar in the February 1917 revolution. Although the Bolsheviks and Mencheviques joined for the struggle, they had fundamental ideological differences with respect to the ideal way of conducting the Russian nation towards a socialist state.
The Mensheviks followed traditional Marxist ideas And they wanted to transform Russian society gradually: to convert the Zarist feudal society into an industrial, bourgeois and democratic society, which would then evolve towards socialism.
The Bolsheviks claimed a radical and immediate transformation To establish socialism through the “dictatorship of the proletariat”: create a centralized government, led by party leaders and oriented to organize a communist society, without private property or social classes.
The February revolution overthrew the Tsarist monarchy and formed a provisional government based on Parliament. However, a period of dispersion of power was opened, in which the influence of the Petrograd Soviet (Council of Workers’ Representatives of the Russian capital) grew.
In October of the same year, The Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government and installed a new government led by Lenin. Finally, given the growth of tensions and internal struggles, in 1921 the Mensheviks were illegalized and expelled from the Central Executive Committee Panruso, and had to flee into exile or integrate into the single Bolshevik party.
Key points
- The Bolsheviks and Mensheviques were two factions of the Social Democratic Workers Party of Russia (POSDR).
- The Mensheviks believed that Russian society had to achieve socialism gradually and the Bolsheviks argued that Russian society had to establish socialism immediately.
- In February 1917, the two factions participated in the revolution that overthrew the Tsar of Russia and the Mensheviks established a parliamentary provisional government.
- In October 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Menshevique government and installed a government led by Lenin and the labor movement.
See also: Russian Revolution
Origin of Bolsheviques and Mensheviques
The differentiation between Bolsheviks and Mensheviques emerged during the second Postdr Congress in 1903, with the disagreement between socialist leaders about the nature of the party.
Some leaders, such as Pável Axelrod and Yuri Martóv, argued that to achieve progress it was necessary to increase the size of the party and make their affiliation more flexible. Axelrod believed that party control should be transferred directly to workers. Martóv was inclined to limit the powers of the Central Committee and the party leadership and grant some autonomy to local committees.
As opposed to these positions, Lenin claimed that the organization of the party should be maintained controlled by a hierarchical direction and disciplined, which included only the militancy of workers committed to the revolutionary cause. He believed that the revolution should be organized by a professional elite that guided the actions of the masses.
Faced with this disagreement, In the second congress the unit of the party broke and the two factions were clearly delimited. The Bolsheviks identified with a radical action to achieve the revolution and joined under the direction of Lenin. Instead, the Mensheviks maintained more moderate socialist positions, linked to the actions of different representatives such as Axelrod and Mártov.
What do the terms “Bolshevik” and “Menshevique” mean?
The term “Bolshevik” means in Russian majority member. The term “Menshevique” means in Russian minority member.
This nomenclature comes from the distribution of militants in the 1903 vote within the second Congress of the Postdr, in which the Bolsheviks were the radicalized faction and the Moderate Mensheviks.
The leaders of both factions
Among the main leaders of the Bolsheviks was Vladimir Ilich Uliánov, known as “Lenin”, a fundamental ideologist of Soviet communism. Lenin believed that to build a communist society in Russia, the “dictatorship of the proletariat” should be installeda strong and centralized government led by the party leaders, in order to implement the radical measures that will lead to the elimination of private property and a class without classes.
The Mensheviks, on the other hand, had a diverse leadership that changed with the strength of the representatives who opposed the Bolsheviks. The Menshevique faction originated with the opposition of Yuli Mártov and Pável Axelrod to Lenin’s ideas in the second Postdr Congress in 1903.
Later, other thinkers and politicians such as Leon Trotsky and Aleksandr Kerenski stood out in the leadership of the faction.
The Bolshevik ideology
The Bolsheviks hugged Lenin’s thesis that They postulated the need for a dictatorship of the proletariat implanted through the violent revolution, to achieve socialism in Russia.
This revolution It was held in the alliance of the working class With the peasantry, whose joint force could overthrow the tsar, end the landowners and prevent the bourgeoisie’s handling.
For this, Lenin proposed a “democratic centralism”in which a single party would assume the full power of the only ruling class, the proletariat. To belong to this party it would be necessary to belong first to some assigned organization; that is, to have exercised militancy.
The Menshevique Ideology
The Mensheviques defended a broad, diverse and democratic partisan modelaway from the Single Party proposed by Lenin.
His ideal was to reach the first social democracyestablish a representative system that will modernize the agrarian Russia and, after reaching a high level of industrialization, establishing socialism. This thesis, closer to Karl Marx’s theories, resembled the models of German workers’ parties, with a less rigid and authoritarian structure than the one proposed by Lenin.
Differences between Bolsheviques and Mencheviques
The central difference between both factions had to do with The nature of the party and with the ideas of how socialism should be implemented in Russiawhich was a country with a sparsely industrialized productive system.
In general terms, The Mensheviks argued that to implement socialism in Russia, First, the feudal productive system should be transformed through industrialization. To do this, Russian society should necessarily cross a stage of capitalism, before reaching socialism. Therefore, they believed that the liberal sectors and the incipient bourgeoisie were key allies, although temporary, for the revolution.
In contrast, The Bolsheviks believed that you could Install a socialist regime in Russia from the transformation of the peasant economy into an industrial economy, directed by a communist government. To do this, it was due Implement a proletariat dictatorship in a transitory wayuntil you reach the formation of a class without classes. In this sense, they believed that the oppressed peasantry was a fundamental sector to achieve the revolution.
Partisan rupture between Bolsheviques and Mencheviques
In 1905, due to the economic discomfort aggravated by the Russian-Japanese garden and the Tsarist authoritarianism, Peasant and workers’ strikes multipliedthe student demonstrations and a series of terrorist attacks against the Tsarist officials were carried out.
After a great repression by government troops, Tsar Nicolas II authorized the creation of a Constitution and the foundation of a national parliament with representatives chosen by Citizens (called Duma).
The liberal groups (of the bourgeois elite), the professionals of the middle class and the little bourgeoisie accepted the proposed reforms. However, the workers of the main cities (St. Petersburg and Moscow) led by the POSDR maintained the opposition and organized a advice of workers’ representatives chosen in the factories, called Soviet.
The Mensheviques were very active in the formation of the Saint Petersburg and led the meeting of workers, leaders and activists of different currents. However, towards the end of 1905 the Tsarist troops managed to dissolve it by force and began a period of repression and persecution of the revolutionary leaders.
In that context, The Mensheviques abandoned the idea of the armed struggle and concentrated their efforts to grow the party Legally, like a mass party with sufficient strength and backing to achieve gradual changes. They believed that Russia was not prepared for a socialist revolution without the support of the middle classes and the bourgeoisie.
Instead, Bolsheviques argued that it was essential to preserve the clandestine organization of the party and maintain a compact and revolutionary structure. They argued that the revolution should exclude the liberal sectors and rely, on the other hand, in the oppressed peasantry. The alliance between the workers and peasants sectors was, for them, the basis of the revolution.
In 1912, the two factions were effectively separated and constituted as autonomous groups.
Role in the provisional government of 1917
World War I and its disastrous consequences on the Russian economy raided the way for a new revolution. In February 1917, Russian society rose against the Tsarist government much more decisive than in 1905.
In principle, the uprisings were led by the liberal and intellectual groups of the bourgeoisie. However, The workers’ Soviets were constituted as the strongest and most dynamic faction of the revolutionand demanded the abdication of the Tsar, the creation of a new government and the satisfaction of a set of social and economic claims typical of the labor sector.
The February 1917 revolution achieved the resignation of Tsar Nicolás II and the establishment of a provisional government based on Parliament. However, the power of the workers’ sectors was concentrated in the Soviet of St. Petersburg and in practice it was constituted as another government institution during this period.
In this context, The Mensheviques managed to occupy Banks of Parliament and place Aleksandr Kérenski as provisional government prime minister. Instead, The Bolsheviks concentrated their power in the Soviets of workers. This generated a dual power situation that triggered tensions. In addition, he prevented political reorganization and the solution of the problems inherited from Tsarismo.
Decadence of Menchevism
In the months following the February revolution, The provisional government failed to solve the urgent problems of Russian society. It was not decided to sign the armistice with the Germans (which implied the departure of Russia from World War I) could not contain the land demands of the peasants, or implement the labor reforms claimed by the workers.
With the general discontent, the Mensheviks lost influence inside and outside the government. The right -wing liberal sectors tried a coup d’etat, led by Larv Kornilovwhich was dismantled by the actions of the Bolsheviks workers. Finally, the October revolution was unleashed, in which the Bolshevik faction effectively took power.
The October Revolution
The night of October 24, Bolshevik workers and revolutionaries occupied the headquarters of the provisional government And they took the key government offices, with little resistance. They installed a new government called the People’s Commissioners Council and led by Lenin, under the slogan “All the power for the Soviets.”
Once in power, Lenin immediately adopted a series of drastic measures With the objective of implementing the dictatorship of the proletariat: expropriation of the lands of the nobility, distribution of lands between peasants, right of self -determination to nationalities, peace decree with Germany for the departure of the First World War.
However, when the elections for the formation of a Constituent Assembly were held, the Bolsheviks obtained only 25 % of the votes. Given this situation, they closed the assembly, ended the brief democratic period and They decreed the creation of a single party dictatorship.
During the following year, The Mensheviks won popularity and began to have great electoral victories in the Soviets, which were the basis of the Bolshevik power. Given this loss of control, the Bolshevik government dissolved the Soviets, repressed the demonstration against him and closed the opposition press.
Finally, in 1921 the Menchevique party was legally prohibited and most of its members were exiled from the country.
Continue with:
- Russian civil war
- History of the Soviet Union
- Komintern
- Stalinism
References
- Carr, EH (1981). October 1917. In The Russian revolution. From Lenin to Stalin (1917-1929). Editorial Alliance.
- Fitzpatrick, S. (2005). Introduction, the stage and 1917: the February and October revolutions. In The Russian revolution. 21st century editors.
- Milosevich, M. (2017). The political groups of the 20th century. In Brief history of the Russian revolution. Gutemberg Galaxy.
